Gina Acosta: Sara Duterte ordered ₱125M release to Lachica

MANILA, Philippines — On Monday, former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta testified that Vice President Sara Duterte instructed her to turn over ₱125 million in confidential funds to OVP security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.

Prosecution counsel Amando Virgil Ligutan, on Day 16 of Duterte’s impeachment trial, asked Acosta why she turned over her confidential fund disbursement duties to Lachica – the same question raised during the November 25, 2024 hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

READ: LIVE: VP Sara Duterte impeachment Day 16

She was following the directive of OVP’s higher-ups, including the “head of agency,” Acosta responded.

When Ligutan clarified who she meant by the head of agency, Acosta identified Duterte.

“Ang nag-utos po sa akin na i-release ang pera na ₱125-M, sa security officer na si Colonel Lachica ay si Ma’am Sara Duterte,” Acosta said.

(The directive to us was to release the money worth ₱125-M to the security officer Colonel Lachica, who is Ma’am Sara Duterte.)

Prior to this, Ligutan asked the witness if Lachica was an employee of the OVP.

Instruction from above

“You are the special disbursing officer; you prepare the physical financial plan. And yet you cannot answer the simple question if Col. Lachica is an employee of the OVP. The question is, why did you have to call Col. Lachica to inform him, ‘Col. Lachica, the ₱125 million pesos is ready. Why?,” Ligutan said.

Acosta responded that she released the funds based on the instruction of the “head of the agency”.“Because there is an instruction from above, your Honor, from my head of agency, that when I encash the cheque, I should release it to Sir Lachica, who is designated as a special officer, a security officer of the Office of the Vice President, who was also ordered, your Honor,” the witness said.

Ligutan reiterated his question, but counsel for the defense Lindon Bacquel objected due it supposedly being misleading. However, Presiding Officer and Senator-judge Francis Escudero overruled the objection, saying Acosta may answer since she already said Duterte instructed her to release the funds to Acosta.

No other authority

“And you only came to know that Colonel Lachica knows how to implement the confidential activities, nalaman niyo lang na si Col. Lachica ‘yon may alam, pano i-implement ‘yong confidential activities, precisely because ‘yon ‘yong sabi sa inyo ni VP Inday Sara Duterte, tama po ba?” Ligutan asked.

(And you only came to know that Colonel Lachica knows how to implement the confidential activities, you knew that only Col. Lachica has the idea on how to implement the confidential activities, precisely because that was what VP Inday Sara Duterte told you, right?)

“Yes, siya po ang security officer na sinabi ni Bise Presidente (Yes, he is the security officer who was mentioned by the Vice President),” Acosta noted.

Acosta had previously made substantially the same claim during a November 2024 hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

During that hearing, Batangas Rep. and now the lead House Prosecutor Gerville Luistro asked Acosta how the CFs were disbursed.

Lachica knows surveillance, monitoring

Acosta said Duterte had instructed her to release the money to Lachica because he knew how to implement programs and activities related to confidential funds. She specifically cited his knowledge of surveillance and monitoring.

Acosta was not the only former special disbursing officer who testified that Duterte directed the transfer of CF disbursements to a security official.

Before Acosta gave her testimony before the House committee, former Department of Education special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda also said he turned over DepEd’s confidential funds to a designated security officer.

Fajarda identified Col. Dennis Nolasco as the security officer who received the funds.

Acosta is the sixth witness presented by the prosecution for Article I, or the allegations that Duterte misused the CF allocated to her offices.

Previously, the prosecution presented former LandBank department managers Violeta Constantino and Nenita Camposano, who used to manage the branches where OVP and DepEd encashed their CF allocations; and state auditors Roderick Wamil and Xylene Mae del Campo, who scrutinized the financial books of Duterte’s offices.

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