Gina Acosta told the Senate impeachment court on Monday that she handed over P500 million in Office of the Vice President confidential funds to Colonel Raymund Lachica across 2022 and 2023 because Vice President Sara Duterte instructed her to and because Lachica was the one equipped to carry out confidential operations — an arrangement she acknowledged fell outside what the rules permit.
The admission that a security officer is not the proper party to spend such funds came under questioning from presiding officer Francis Escudero. Asked whether Joint Circular 2015-01 assigns the disbursement of confidential money to the security officer, Acosta agreed it does not.
“Hindi po [trabaho iyon ng security officer], Your Honor. Trabaho po ‘yan ng…disbursing officer, Your Honor. Pero, pag na-release ko na po ang pera sa kanya, Your Honor, pinareceive ko sa kanya, Your Honor, magbigay po siya sa akin ng utilization report,” Acosta said.
That concession sat against the account she gave private prosecutor Amando Ligutan, who walked her back through her earlier statements before the House panel inquiry. Ligutan established that Duterte had directed the release of P125 million in confidential funds to Lachica, and that Acosta viewed the colonel as the only person who understood how the vice president’s confidential programs and activities were to be implemented.
“Yung sagot ninyo was 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. You confirm that?” Ligutan asked.
“Yes, Your Honor. Siya (Lachica) lang ‘yung may alam on how to implement ‘yung confidential activities,” Acosta replied.
Acosta gave the same account for the OVP’s separate P375-million confidential allocation for 2023, confirming she released that sum to Lachica for identical reasons.
Pressed on why she chose Lachica when the circular designates the special disbursing officer as the one to release the money, Acosta rested her explanation on his standing within the office.
“Hindi ko ibibigay kung hindi siya (Lachica) ang designated security officer [ng OVP],” she said.
Ligutan then tried to draw out whether that deference stemmed from an unwillingness to challenge the vice president’s decision. Defense counsel Lindon Miguel Bacquel objected, calling the question argumentative, and Escudero sustained it — noting Acosta had already supplied two reasons for turning the fund over to the colonel.
