The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has identified three individuals as hostile witnesses in regards to questions about the use of confidential funds.
One of them is Gina Acosta, a former special disbursing officer of the Office of the Vice President (OVP). She handled the disbursement of ₱500 million in confidential funds from late 2022 to late 2023.
Acosta testified that she personally handed the funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, VP Sara’s former security head, who was not fidelity-bonded.
Meanwhile, Lemuel Ortonio, an assistant secretary and assistant chief of staff at the OVP, confirmed that ₱125 million in confidential funds requested in late 2022 was spent within just 11 days.
He also testified that he did not see official receipts or acknowledgment receipts for millions of pesos reportedly spent on food, medicine, and supplies under confidential operations.
The third is Michael Poa, a former Department of Education undersecretary and member of the defense team. Despite being part of VP Sara’s defense, Poa took the stand as a witness in the impeachment trial.
Poa testified that only VP Sara and designated fund handlers had access to and knowledge of the confidential funds, where he was kept out of the process and had no operational knowledge of how the DepEd confidential funds were spent.
Together, the testimonies of the three witnesses have drawn attention to how confidential funds were handled, who had access to them, and how the expenses were documented.
