Office of the Vice President (OVP) Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio confirmed Wednesday that Col. Raymund Lachica was not an employee of the OVP but was designated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as group commander of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).
Ortonio made the clarification during the Day 19 of impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after Senator-Judge Vicente “Tito” Sotto III asked about Lachica’s employment status at the OVP.
“What is the employment status of Col. Lachica in the Office of the Vice President?” Sotto asked.
“Colonel Lachica po is the group commander of the VPSPG and he is not an employee of the OVP, but he has an order coming from the AFP designating him as the group commander for the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group,” Ortonio said.
Sotto pressed Ortonio to confirm whether Lachica held any employment status within the OVP, to which the witness answered no.
Lachica, who previously headed the VPSPG and served as an OVP security officer, was earlier identified in the trial in connection with the handling of the OVP’s confidential funds.
Sotto also established that administrative and finance matters at the OVP passed through Ortonio, who had previously headed the human resources office of the Davao City local government.
