Manila, April 15 -- Manila Rep. Joel Chua on Wednesday said the Commission on Audit's (COA) affirmation of the notice of disallowance covering some PHP73.28 million in confidential expenses of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) raises serious accountability concerns.

Testifying before the House Committee on Justice on Tuesday, COA said it denied the appeal filed by Vice President Sara Duterte and other OVP officials and affirmed Notice of Disallowance No. 2024-002-100 covering expenses from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022.

COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Officer Gloria Camora said that once the ruling becomes final, the amount must be returned to the government.

The disallowed amount includes PHP69.78 million for rewards and PHP3...