Sinabi ng dating auditor ng Commission on Audit (COA) at ngayo’y senatorial candidate na si Heidi Mendoza na obligasyon ni Vice President Sara Duterte na pangalanan ang mga confidential informant nito kapag hiningi iyon ng Kongreso at ng COA.
“As head of the agency, it is there in the guidelines, you are to adopt internal controls that will protect the funds. If you have a list of aliases, you must also keep a separate list of their real identities. An agency may write down only the aliases, but as a government official, first and foremost, your responsibility is to safeguard the people’s money,” ani Mendoza.
Nang makapanayam sa ‘Morning Matters’ ng TV5, sinabi ni Mendoza na ang mga alituntunin sa paggamit ng confidential funds ay nag-aatas sa pinuno ng isang government agency na magpatupad ng internal controls upang matiyak na tama ang paggamit sa pondo ng gobyerno.
Ibig sabihin, alam dapat ni VP Sara kung sino ang nasa payroll ng kanyang tanggapan bilang confidential agents—gaya ni Mary Grace Piattos at ng mahigit 1,300 iba pa na nakapirma bilang mga benepisyaryo ng confidential funds ng Office of the Vice President (OVP) pero pawang walang anumang record sa Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Ayon kay Mendoza, hindi maaaring tanggihan ng OVP ang Kamara kung nais nitong suriin ang mga pangalan sa journal ng confidential funds, dahil bahagi ng kapangyarihan ng Lower Chamber ang magsagawa ng oversight sa paggastos ng national budget.
“It is written in the guidelines that the head of agency must keep a journal. Congress can check it as they see fit. Remember, there is no law prohibiting that. On the other hand, the Constitution upholds the right of the citizen to information affecting their welfare and interest. This (confidential fund) is an information that is very important to us,” paliwanag ni Mendoza.