ASEANEWS HEADLINE-VP DU30 IMPEACHMENT 8.17.26 DAY #16 | MANILA: Witness: Security chief got P125M on VP’s order
Former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta answers questions from prosecution lawyer Atty. Amando Ligutan as the prosecution presents an AI-generated sample image depicting P125 million in cash inside bags, along with prop money representing the amount, during the 16th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on August 17, 2026./ Ryan Baldemor / The Philippine STAR
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Philippines Senate LIVE: Impeachment Trial of Vice President Sara Duterte | Day 16, Aug 17th
Philippines Senate LIVE: Impeachment Trial of Vice President Sara Duterte | Day 16, Aug 17th Watch the LIVE proceedings of the impeachment trial involving Philippine Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte. Stay updated with the latest developments, key arguments, statements from lawmakers, and major moments as the impeachment proceedings unfold.
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MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte personally ordered the release of P125 million in confidential funds to her security chief in December 2022, Gina Acosta, a former special disbursing officer (SDO) of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), told the impeachment court on Monday.
On the 16th day of the trial, Acosta said Duterte instructed her to hand the money to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica after she withdrew the amount in cash from the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) Shaw Boulevard branch on Dec. 20, 2022.
“The one who ordered me to release the P125 million to Lachica was Ma’am Sara Duterte,” Acosta said in response to private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan.
Acosta, who remains an OVP employee as vice presidential staff officer VI, said she called Lachica after encashing the check because Duterte, as head of the agency, had ordered her to turn over the money to him.
READ: WATCH: Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Aug. 17, 2026
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“Because there was an instruction from the higher-up, from my head of agency, to release it to Lachica after I encashed the check,” she said.
Direct order
The prosecution is using Acosta’s testimony to show that the transfer of the P125 million was done on Duterte’s instructions, rather than simply on the initiative of the accountable officer who withdrew the money.
Acosta was declared a hostile witness at the beginning of Monday’s proceedings because of a counteraffidavit she filed defending Duterte and because she remains an OVP employee.
Her testimony echoed what she told a House inquiry in 2024. Ligutan repeatedly read portions of her previous testimony and asked her to confirm them before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
READ: Sara Duterte impeachment trial: Clerk of court finishes ARs comparison
Acosta said Duterte approved the transfer because Lachica supposedly knew how to carry out programs and activities involving confidential operations.
She also said she would not have handed the entire P125 million to Lachica without Duterte’s approval.
“There was an approval from Ma’am Inday Sara,” Acosta said when asked why she gave the money to Lachica even though she herself was the accountable officer.
Asked if she would have done it without Duterte’s approval, she answered: “No, Sir.”
Rules questioned
But the testimony also raised questions about the procedure used to move the funds.
Acosta admitted she could not point to any provision in Joint Circular No. 2015-01 that authorized a security officer to disburse confidential funds.
Sen. Francis Escudero, the impeachment court’s presiding officer, asked whether spending confidential funds was part of a security officer’s duties.
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“No, Your Honor, that’s the job of the disbursing officer,” Acosta replied.
Lachica, who was then head of Duterte’s security group, nevertheless received the cash and later submitted utilization documents to Acosta, according to the witness.
Acosta said Lachica had expertise in carrying out confidential operations, something she said she did not have. But she could not say whether he was an OVP employee or whether he received a salary from the office.
“I only know that he is a security officer, that’s the only thing I know,” she said.
She also acknowledged that she relied on the liquidation documents and information that Lachica submitted and did not question his reports.
‘Cash’ on display
The physical size of the P125 million withdrawal also became a focus of the hearing.
The prosecution brought out paper bundles and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images to help the senator-judges visualize what P125 million in P1,000 bills would look like. Ligutan acknowledged that the images were computer-generated because the prosecution did not have P125 million in cash to display.
“Because we don’t have P125 million in cold cash so we had to resort to technology,” Ligutan said.
Defense lawyer Lindon Miguel Bacquel objected, questioning whether the props and AI images were an accurate representation of the cash Acosta had described.
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Acosta said the money was bundled by the million, with each bundle consisting of P1,000 bills. The cash was initially placed in two boxes and later transferred to four black, oblong traveling bags.
Asked about the size of the boxes, Acosta used her arms and body to demonstrate their dimensions. She indicated that each box reached roughly from her upper abdomen to the top of her head and was almost as wide as the witness stand.
The prosecution then presented paper representations of the cash bundles. Acosta eventually said they were similar to the bundles she had transported.
A second AI-generated image showed cash inside four bags. This time, however, Acosta said the image did not accurately resemble the bags she had used, particularly their openings.
Acosta also said she did not personally carry the bags after they were filled. Landbank security personnel helped move them, while OVP assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio also assisted in transporting the money.
Language clash
The hearing lagged at the start because of Acosta’s request to speak in Bisaya, saying she had difficulty speaking and understanding Tagalog or Filipino.
She switched to Filipino, however, after Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo noted that records from the 2024 House inquiry showed her answering questions in the language.
Tulfo said he had reviewed the transcript of Acosta’s earlier testimony and questioned why she appeared unable to respond as readily in Filipino during the impeachment proceedings.
He urged the court to require her to answer in Tagalog, saying the difficulty was slowing down the proceedings. He also pointed out that Acosta, who used to work with the Davao City local government, had previously answered questions in both Tagalog and English.
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Meanwhile, the impeachment court excused House archives chief Marivic Pareja within 20 minutes of taking the stand. Her testimony was dispensed with after the defense stipulated to the authenticity and custody of official House records, portions of which were cited during Acosta’s testimony. —WITH A REPORT FROM GABRIEL PABICO LALU
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