A member of the impeachment prosecution team declared Monday that former special disbursing officer Gina Acosta faces near-certain jail time over her courtroom admissions, while pressing his central argument that Vice President Sara Duterte deserves the same fate.
Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon delivered the assessment to reporters outside the Senate chamber, saying the day’s testimony had built a strong case against Acosta but should never end with her and other rank-and-file personnel behind bars.
“I think it’s very important na lumabas din po ito sa paglilitis ngayong araw na ito. Again, to recap, I’m sure makukulong si Ms. Acosta; pwedeng makulong si Lachica, pero hindi ho dapat matapos ‘yon, katulad ng nasabi ko, ordinaryong kawani lang naman po itong mga ‘to,” Ridon said.
He tied Duterte directly to the alleged wrongdoing. “Nakita naman po natin sa kanya pong demeanor, ang dapat pong makulong kasama nila si Vice President Sara Duterte, dapat matanggal on the basis of confidential funds misuse ang atin pong Pangalawang Pangulo,” he added.
The evidence Ridon pointed to was Acosta’s acknowledgment that she handed her confidential fund duties for the Office of the Vice President to Army Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, despite knowing he had not posted the bond such a role requires. That bond serves as a financial guarantee the government can draw on if part of the allocation goes missing. Acosta had posted it as the designated SDO; Lachica had not.
Asked whether Acosta was being genuinely confused or evasive on the stand, Ridon said she appeared to be protecting herself given the scope of what she had conceded. “May bahagi po na siyempre, mahalagang isalba niya ‘yong sarili niya eh, kasi sa dulo’t dulo ho, marami na ho siyang inamin ngayong araw na ito. Maraming pagkukulang, maraming lapses, maraming aktwal na direktang pananagutan po si Ms. Acosta,” he said.
His broader point drew on a recurring pattern in Philippine corruption cases. “But again, ang posisyon ko ho dito, hindi mo pwede mga ordinaryong kawani ang nakukulong. Maraming beses na ho nating nakita na chief-of-staff, tauhan lang po, inutusan, ‘yon pong nakulong sa mga pinaka-malaking pandarambong po ng pondo ng bayan. Hindi natin dapat payagan ito. Para kay Ms. Acosta. Mr. Lachica, dapat kasama si Vice President Sara Duterte,” he added.
The prosecution has framed the arrangement as a violation of Joint Circular No. 2015-01, the rules covering the use, liquidation, and auditing of secret funds. Under direct examination by prosecution counsel Amando Virgil Ligutan, Item No. 6.1.2 was cited as requiring that cash advances for confidential and intelligence work be drawn only by duly designated and bonded SDOs or a head of agency. Ligutan also warned that funneling the money to Lachica, who was not an organic OVP employee, may have set off further breaches—among them Item No. 6.1.1, barring transfers between accountable officers, and Item 6.1.6, prohibiting the movement of such funds from one agency to another.
Acosta’s admission came on the 17th day of the trial and made her the sixth prosecution witness under Article I, which covers the claims that Duterte misused confidential money allocated to her offices. Her role gave her charge over releasing those funds, including payments to informants and rewards.
The account was not new. Acosta had described the same transfer at Duterte’s direction during a November 2024 hearing before the House committee on good government and public accountability, and again when she first took the stand on August 17, before weather halted proceedings on August 18 and 19.
She was also not the only disbursing officer to describe such orders. Edward Fajarda, a former SDO at the Department of Education during Duterte’s time heading that department, previously told the House panel that Duterte pointed to a security official—Col. Dennis Nolasco of the VPSPG—to take over the disbursement function.
