The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte hears testimony from former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta about alleged instructions to release confidential funds. During the proceedings, Acosta is questioned about the handling and disbursement of OVP confidential funds, including a reported P125 million released in December 2022.
Prosecutors present Acosta—then an OVP special disbursing officer and now described as a staff officer—as a hostile witness. The questioning focuses on the transfer of confidential funds to OVP security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, with prosecutors highlighting Acosta’s account that Duterte directed her to release the funds to Lachica. One report notes that the questioning links to claims of misuse of confidential funds, while also referencing similar testimony Acosta previously gave during a 2024 House of Representatives hearing.
Across the outlets provided, the central point of agreement is Acosta’s testimony that Duterte instructed the release of P125 million in confidential funds to Lachica as part of her role in disbursing OVP funds. Details on other aspects of the trial beyond that exchange are not expanded in the sources.
