A retired bank manager who spent her entire career at the Land Bank of the Philippines told the Senate impeachment court on July 29, 2026, that she had never once handled a cash withdrawal as large as those tied to the Office of the Vice President — a plainspoken account that put a human face on the P612.5-million confidential funds question at the center of the trial.
Violeta Constantino, former manager of LandBank’s Shaw Boulevard branch, took the stand as the House prosecution’s first witness under Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, which alleges the misuse and irregular disbursement of confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during Vice President Sara Duterte’s tenure. Prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua introduced her as a department manager who served at the branch from May 2017 to January 2024.
Asked by senator-judges whether she had ever encountered a P125-million cash withdrawal before, Constantino answered, “First time po.” She confirmed she had never witnessed a cash withdrawal of such magnitude across 32 years in banking.
The transaction stood out, she explained, not only for the size but because it was taken entirely in physical cash rather than by check or online transfer. At her branch, she said, any cash transaction above P500,000 was already treated as unusual depending on the client — making the withdrawal roughly 250 times that threshold.
Her testimony is expected to establish how four checks worth P125 million each were processed and encashed at the branch. The prosecution has said the disbursements were backed by questionable liquidation papers, including acknowledgment receipts naming recipients whose identities were later disputed. Constantino was to be followed on the stand by Nenita Camposano, former manager of LandBank’s Department of Education branch.
The confidential funds allegations cover P500 million from the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million from the Department of Education. Duterte has not appeared in person at the trial, which began July 6 and has allotted the prosecution 30 trial days to make its case.
