Former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta told the Senate impeachment court that Vice President Sara Duterte personally ordered the release of ₱125 million in confidential funds to then-Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group chief Col. Raymund Dante Lachica in December 2022, putting one of the most controversial transactions in the OVP’s confidential-fund controversy back at the center of the impeachment trial.
Acosta made the disclosure on August 17, 2026, during Day 16 of Duterte’s impeachment trial. She identified Duterte as the “head of agency” who instructed her to turn over the money to Lachica, saying the security officer was considered the person who knew how to implement activities connected to confidential operations.
According to Acosta, she encashed the ₱125-million check at a Land Bank branch on December 20, 2022, and handed the entire amount to Lachica on the same day. She said the cash was carried in four travel bags.
The testimony was not entirely new. Acosta had previously discussed the transaction during the 2024 House investigation into the OVP’s confidential funds. Reports from the Daily Tribune at the time said she acknowledged releasing ₱125 million to Lachica after encashing the amount, while also maintaining that the release had Duterte’s approval.
The problem: who was supposed to handle the money?
The transaction became more contentious when prosecutors and the impeachment court examined whether a security officer was authorized to disburse or spend confidential funds.
Acosta acknowledged that spending confidential funds was the responsibility of the disbursing officer, not a security officer. She nevertheless defended the release by saying Lachica was the person with the expertise to implement the confidential activities and that he later submitted utilization reports.
Pressed on whether Joint Circular 2015-01 specifically authorized the release of confidential funds to a security officer, Acosta could not identify a provision allowing such an arrangement. The issue became a major point of questioning by Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
The Daily Tribune had previously reported that congressional investigators questioned the delegation of confidential-fund handling to security personnel. Lawmakers emphasized that under the applicable guidelines, the special disbursing officer remained responsible for the actual disbursement of the funds.
₱125 million was only part of the larger OVP fund
The testimony also placed the ₱125-million transaction within the broader controversy surrounding the OVP’s confidential-fund allocations.
GMA News reported that Acosta testified she released a total of ₱500 million in OVP confidential funds during 2022 and 2023 to Lachica, saying the releases were made on Duterte’s instructions. The ₱125 million discussed most prominently in court represented the OVP’s confidential-fund allocation for the final quarter of 2022.
The Daily Tribune likewise reported that the OVP received another ₱125 million per quarter during the first three quarters of 2023.
That broader figure matters because the impeachment case’s first article concerns allegations involving ₱500 million in OVP confidential funds and ₱112.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure there. GMA News reported that these allegations form part of the basis of Article I of the impeachment case.
COA disallowance adds another layer
The controversy is also tied to the Commission on Audit’s examination of the OVP’s confidential-fund spending.
Daily Tribune reported that COA later disallowed ₱73.287 million in expenses reported against the OVP fund, citing documentation and compliance issues. Duterte and other OVP officials have challenged the disallowance.
The existence of a COA disallowance, however, should not be treated as proof that the entire ₱125 million was unlawfully spent. The impeachment court is separately examining the circumstances surrounding the releases, the authority of the people who handled the money, and the documentation supporting its utilization.
Acosta becomes a hostile witness
Another significant development during the hearing was the Senate impeachment court’s declaration of Acosta as a hostile witness for the prosecution.
GMA News reported that the ruling followed questions about Acosta’s employment relationship with the OVP and her earlier statements defending Duterte in connection with complaints involving the confidential funds. Acosta acknowledged that she would no longer be working at the OVP if Duterte ceased to be vice president, since her position is coterminous with Duterte’s tenure.
The designation allowed the prosecution to use leading questions while examining her testimony. Inquirer separately reported that the prosecution was permitted to ask leading questions after the court declared Acosta hostile.
What happened after Lachica received the money?
One of the most striking portions of Acosta’s testimony was her admission that after she handed the ₱125 million to Lachica, she no longer knew where the money went.
Daily Tribune reported that Acosta told the impeachment court she did not know where Lachica brought the cash after receiving it. At the same time, she said utilization reports were subsequently submitted to her.
That distinction is likely to remain important as the trial proceeds: the prosecution is questioning not only who ordered the release, but also whether the procedure used to transfer the funds complied with the rules governing confidential expenditures and whether the supporting documentation sufficiently accounted for the money.
The prosecution even presented simulated cash and an AI-generated image to illustrate the volume of ₱125 million. The defense objected to the presentation, arguing that the AI-generated material was not an accurate representation of the actual cash. The court allowed the simulation while noting the objection.
The bigger question now
The latest testimony does not by itself establish criminal liability or prove that Duterte personally misused the money. What it does is place a specific transaction directly before the Senate impeachment court: ₱125 million in confidential funds was withdrawn in December 2022, transferred in cash to Lachica, and, according to Acosta, released because Duterte ordered it.
The impeachment court must still assess the testimony alongside documentary evidence, audit findings, applicable government rules, and the defense’s arguments.
For Duterte, the politically explosive issue is no longer simply that the OVP received confidential funds. The trial is now examining who controlled the cash, who was authorized to disburse it, what rules governed the transfer, and how the money was ultimately accounted for.
And that leaves the question hanging over the proceedings: if the ₱125 million was handed over to a security officer on the vice president’s instruction, who ultimately accounted for every peso?
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