MANILA — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) insisted Wednesday that its confidential funds were "utilized appropriately" days after the Commission on Audit (COA) released its report on the office's spending.

However, the OVP did not specify how the said confidential expenses were used.

"The confidential fund has been utilized appropriately for its intended purpose and in accordance with the guidelines set by the national government," the OVP said in a statement.

Last July 3, state auditors revealed in their report that the confidential expenses of the office under Vice President Sara Duterte rose to P125 million in 2022, from zero confidential expenses in 2021 under former vice president Leni Robredo.

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COA also noted in their report that assistance and subsidy provided by the OVP to local government units and non-government organizations went down to P378.82 million in 2022 from P526.713 million in 2021.

The OVP, however, said this was because of a lower budget under the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

"The decrease in the amount of financial assistance/subsidy from Fiscal Year 2021 to Fiscal Year 2022 was due to a lower amount of budget/appropriation under the 2022 General Appropriations Act, in view of the anticipated election ban and transition in 2022," said the OVP.

COA's report also flagged OVP's non-adherence to the procurement laws. The state auditors said that the equipment the OVP procured had a total amount of P668,197 and was obtained without following procedures mandated by the Government Procurement Reform Act.

In its initial response to COA's report, the OVP "assured" the agency that the properties it procured were "used prudently."

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