The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday, August 25, declared Office of the Vice President (OVP) Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel G. Ortonio as a hostile witness for the prosecution, making him the second witness to receive the designation in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Private prosecutor Atty. Mae Divinagracia introduced Ortonio as a hostile witness as the trial entered its 18th day.
“We are offering the testimony of Mr. Lemuel G. Ortonio to qualify him as a hostile witness,” Divinagracia told the impeachment court.
Presiding Officer Sen. Chiz Escudero subsequently declared Ortonio a hostile witness, allowing the prosecution to use leading questions during its direct examination.
Ortonio took his oath before the Senate impeachment court before beginning his testimony.
He is the second hostile witness presented by the prosecution in the case. Former OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta was previously declared hostile during her testimony on Article I, which centers on allegations involving the misuse and misappropriation of confidential funds.
The prosecution said Ortonio’s testimony would seek to establish, among other matters, that the OVP’s confidential funds were not intended for or used for a legitimate confidential public purpose.
Defense counsel Atty. Kristine Ferrer objected to the prosecution’s framing of the expected testimony, arguing that such assertions constituted conclusions of fact and law that had yet to be established before the impeachment court.
The declaration of Ortonio as a hostile witness allows prosecutors greater latitude in questioning him, particularly because they may ask leading questions during his direct examination.
Ortonio currently serves as an assistant secretary and assistant chief of staff at the OVP, giving him a role within the office whose confidential fund use is under scrutiny in the impeachment proceedings.
His testimony is expected to provide the prosecution with another perspective on the OVP’s handling, purpose and utilization of confidential funds.
The Senate is currently hearing 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.
Ortonio’s designation as a hostile witness marks another significant development in the prosecution’s presentation of evidence as senators continue to examine the alleged irregularities surrounding the confidential funds.
