Senator-judge Lito Lapid questioned the appearance of his surname in acknowledgment receipts allegedly documenting recipients of Office of the Vice President (OVP) confidential funds during Day 17 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, August 24.
Lapid raised the possibility that two individuals identified by the surname “Lapid” in the receipts could have been aliases or may not have actually existed.
“Paano kung alias lang ’yun? Hindi totoong tao?” Lapid asked former OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta.
Lapid also took a lighter but pointed tone when discussing the possibility that the recipients could be legitimate relatives.
“Magpapasalamat po ako kung totoong Lapid yung kamag-anak ko,” he said, adding that if the names were merely aliases, questions would arise over the use of his family name in documents.
Acosta said the acknowledgment receipts came from former OVP security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, whom she said was designated by Duterte to implement various confidential operational activities.
She explained that she relied on the documents submitted by Lachica because he had an office order authorizing him to conduct the operations.
Lapid pressed Acosta on whether she had independently checked Lachica’s background or determined whether his office had its own intelligence funds.
“Hindi ko alam, Your Honor,” Acosta replied.
When Lapid asked whether she had looked into the matter, Acosta again said she did not know.
Lapid also questioned Acosta about the handling of a second ₱125-million confidential fund release.
Acosta explained that after withdrawing the funds, she placed the money in bags and brought them to her office. Lapid asked about the whereabouts of the ₱45 million that remained after more than ₱80 million was released to Lachica.
Acosta said the remaining amount was placed in the OVP vault.
She later explained that after the initial release of more than ₱80 million, Lachica submitted a Fund Utilization Report and an object of expenditure about a month later. Acosta said she used these documents as the basis for releasing the remaining funds.
Lapid also asked whether then-Vice President Sara Duterte personally saw the cash withdrawn from the bank or whether the money was immediately turned over to Lachica.
Acosta said she placed the withdrawn funds in bags and brought them to the OVP office before placing the remaining amount in the vault.
The questioning adds to the Senate impeachment court’s scrutiny of the acknowledgment receipts used to account for confidential fund expenditures. Other receipts previously presented by the prosecution have also contained unusual names, including “Clarisse Hontiveros,” “Timon Andrew Pusa,” “Antonio Pagong” and “Xuniso P. Belat.”
The prosecution has been examining Acosta’s knowledge of the recipients and the process by which the documents were submitted and used for liquidation.
The proceedings form part of Article I of Duterte’s impeachment case, which alleges the misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP and the Department of Education.
