VICE President Sara Z. Duterte personally ordered the release of the entire P125 million in Office of the Vice President (OVP) confidential funds to security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica after the amount was withdrawn in cash on Dec. 20, 2022.
Former OVP special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta made the disclosure Monday while testifying as a hostile witness before the Senate impeachment court, directly identifying Duterte as the official who instructed her to turn over the money to Lachica.
“Ang nag-utos po sa akin na i-release ang pera na 125M sa security officer na si Col. Lachica ay si Ma’am Sara Duterte,” Acosta said.
Acosta said she called Lachica after encashing the check because of the instruction from Duterte, whom she referred to as her head of agency.
“Kasi po may instruction po sa taas, Your Honor, ng aking head of agency na kung ma-encash ko po ang cheque, i-release ko po kay Sir Lachica,” she testified, referring to the Vice President.
Private prosecutor Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan also confronted Acosta with her sworn testimony during the Nov. 25, 2024 hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Asked during that hearing why she gave all the money to Lachica, Acosta answered: “Because po may utos po ni Ma’am Inday Sara na sa kanya po i-release kasi siya po ang nakakaalam kung paano po i-implement ang mga programs and activities in line po sa confidential activities.”
Acosta affirmed the statement before the impeachment court.
Another portion of her previous testimony showed Acosta saying she would not have entrusted the P125 million to Lachica without Duterte’s approval.
“May approval po kay Ma’am Inday Sara,” Acosta said when asked what gave her the confidence to hand the entire amount to Lachica despite Acosta herself being the accountable officer.
Asked whether she would have done so without Duterte’s approval, Acosta replied: “Hindi po.”
Acosta also previously testified that her trust in Lachica stemmed from Duterte’s trust in the security officer.
“I trust Lachica kasi ginatrust po siya ng aking head of office, Inday Sara,” she said.
The P125 million was the first of four tranches of confidential funds totaling P500 million allocated to the OVP in 2022 and 2023.
The transactions are being examined under Article I of Duterte’s impeachment complaint involving the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds of the OVP and Department of Education.
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