Senator-Judge Panfilo “Ping” Lacson criticized the Office of the Vice President (OVP) over what he described as repetitive descriptions in its Physical and Financial Plans (PFP) for confidential and intelligence funds in 2022 and 2023, questioning whether the documents had been merely copied and pasted.
During Day 19 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Wednesday, Lacson presented the PFPs to OVP Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, who testified that he oversees the office’s administrative and financial operations.
Lacson pointed out that the physical targets listed in the plans for the two budget years contained nearly identical descriptions, including the “number of identified areas with surveillance conducted and monitored” and the “percentage of activities conducted/implemented without and toward security-related incidents.”
“Pauli-ulit po ito, no? So, sabi ko kanina, kayo naman ay mukhang matalinong tao at matalinong witness. Ano pong analysis nyo dyan?” Lacson asked.
Ortonio initially responded that the descriptions referred to activities that would be carried out.
“These are the activities that will be done, sir,” Ortonio said.
Lacson pressed the witness further, asking how he would assess the repeated descriptions in the official plans.
“Hindi ba ito insulto sa common sense? Hindi man lang nyo binago ng konti, at least si Col. Lachica siguro ito,” Lacson said, referring to former OVP chief security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.
The senator-judge said that while the regular programs and budget allocations differed, the descriptions under the confidential and intelligence fund plans appeared to have been carried over without substantial changes.
“Unang-una, regular program, sana man lang, pagdating sa PFP, binago nyo yung nomenclature. Tapos under the physical target, yung column, sana man lang binago nyo yung activities. Copy-paste eh,” Lacson said.
The exchange followed Lacson’s review of the OVP’s budget documents for 2022 and 2023. He noted that the 2022 General Appropriations Act included ₱621.6 million for the good governance program, while the confidential and intelligence fund reflected ₱125 million for the fourth quarter.
For 2023, Lacson cited ₱2.21 billion under the socio-economic program delivery in the General Appropriations Act, alongside ₱500 million in confidential funds divided into ₱125 million allocations for each quarter.
After asking Ortonio to give his assessment of the repeated descriptions, Lacson ultimately offered his own characterization.
“Ako na ang mag-de-describe, I think it’s stupid. Sana man lang, binago-bago niya ng konti,” Lacson said.
The questioning focused on the preparation and documentation of the OVP’s confidential and intelligence fund plans, as senator-judges continued examining how the funds were programmed, implemented, and accounted for during the impeachment proceedings.
