House prosecutors on Monday said the testimony of former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta has directly implicated Vice President Sara Duterte to the turnover of PHP125 million in confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.
In a press briefing, House prosecution legal spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said Acosta’s account confirmed earlier testimony on the OVP’s cash withdrawal from the Land Bank of the Philippines.
“Naging maliwanag kanina na nakumpirma ang sinabi ng mga Landbank managers na una nating narinig na itong bulto-bultong pera ay tinanggap ng (It was made clear that the statements of the LandBank managers that bundles of cash were confirmed to have been received by) Special Disbursement Officer, Gina Acosta,” Tolosa said.
The House prosecution panel’s position is that Lachica, then head of the Vice-Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSG), had no authority to receive and disburse the confidential funds since he was not an organic employee and was not the office’s designated special disbursing officer.
The prosecution said the evidence presented so far established its proposed chain of events: Acosta encashed PHP125 million OVP check dated Dec. 20, 2022; the money filled four bags; and Acosta then turned the cash over to Lachica.
“Wala nang question kung totoo bang binigay niya itong pera kay Lachica, at wala na ring question kung bakit niya ito binigay kay Colonel Lachica (There’s no longer any question whether it’s true that Acosta gave the money to Lachica, or why she gave it to him),” Tolosa said.
“Sinabi niya, binigay iyon dahil sa utos ng VP. Sinabi din, kung hindi ito inutos ng VP sa kanya, hindi niya ito gagawin (She said that she gave the money on orders of the VP. She also said that she would not have done it if it was not ordered),” he added.
Under direct examination, Acosta disclosed that Duterte personally ordered the release of the entire PHP125 million in confidential funds of the OVP to Lachica after the amount was withdrawn in cash on Dec. 20, 2022.
“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 (The one who ordered me to release the PHP125 million to Lachica is Ma’am Sara Duterte),” Acosta said when asked by private prosecutor lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, a member of the House prosecution panel, said the moment produced a visible reaction inside the trial venue.
“There was a palpable gasp ‘nung itinuro na ni Ms. Gina Acosta ang Pangalawang Pangulo na nagbigay ng instructions sa kanya para ibigay ang PHP125 million kay Mr. Lachica (when Acosta said it was the Vice President who instructed her to give the PHP125 million to Lachica),” he noted.
Ridon stressed that Acosta, as a hostile witness by the prosecution, is different from government investigators and auditors who had earlier testified about records produced by their agencies.
The prosecution team said her testimony did more than show that the cash was released while Duterte headed the OVP.
They said Acosta’s answer was evidence that the instruction to hand the money to Lachica came from the Vice President herself, making it harder to place responsibility solely on subordinate personnel who prepared, encashed or carried the funds.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said the size of the single withdrawal should itself command public attention.
He said the unresolved issue was who ultimately received the money if Lachica was not the final beneficiary.
“Kanino po ibinigay ang PHP125 million na iyan? Iyan ang dapat ilabas ng kampo ng Bise Presidente (To whom did they give the PHP125 million? That should be shown by the Vice President’s camp),” Abante said. (PNA)