Metro Manila, Philippines – The prosecution and a number of senator-judges flagged the repetitive answers of witness Gina Acosta, former special disbursing officer of the offices of Vice President Sara Duterte, calling them “canned” and “templated” – as the trial zeroed in on the alleged misuse of confidential funds on Monday, Aug. 24.
During the direct examination of private prosecutor Amando Ligutan, he described Acosta’s answer as “canned” after asking if she would know if Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, former vice presidential security head, indeed gave the funds to names listed in the acknowledgment receipts.
“Nag-verify ako kay Col. Lachica, Your Honor. Kasi siya ang nag-implement ng confidential activities, Your Honor,” Acosta replied.
“Manifestation. Another canned answer to a separate question,” Ligutan responded.
Defense lawyer Lindon Bacquel moved to strike Ligutan’s remarks from the records, but presiding officer Chiz Escudero overruled the objection.
Acosta had issued the same answer multiple times.
For instance, when Ligutan asked her if she gave the ₱500 million confidential funds to Lachica from the last quarter of 2022 and three quarters of 2023 – even though he had not signed a fidelity bond – Acosta said she released it to him, as an expert to implement confidential activities.
Acosta later on admitted that she noticed that some acknowledgment receipts given to her lacked names and dates.
She claimed that when she sought verification, Lachica supposedly told her that the documents were all he could provide, citing the sensitive nature of the activities.
Acosta’s repetitive mention of Lachica as implementer of confidential operations also triggered some senator judges.
For instance, senator-judge Tito Sotto called the answer a ‘template’ when he asked Acosta if she could delegate disbursing powers and whether others can release confidential fund payments to recipients in 132 areas across the country.
The witness gave the same answer, explaining that Lachica was the vice president’s designated security officer.
“Ayoko na marinig ‘yung template Mr. President,” Sotto said before walking off.
“Stupid in the name of loyalty”
Acosta also caught the ire of Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo, who directly called her ‘stupid in the name of loyalty’.
Tulfo made the remark after Acosta responded to his question about whether she ever questioned – as an ‘average’ person – the unusual names and signatures appearing on acknowledgement receipts for confidential funds.
The witness described herself as average when Tulfo asked whether she considers herself smart, average, or stupid.
“Naniwala kayo sa sinabi niya na confidential nature, kahit iisang signature sa napakaraming pangalan?” Tulfo said, in reference to Lachica.
“Kasi siya ang nag-implement sa confidential activities,” Acosta responded.
“For me, in this case, you are stupid in the name of blind loyalty,” Tulfo said.
“Naging istupido kayo sa ngalan ng blind loyalty. Nakapikit kung ano sinasabi ng nakatataas. Sinusunod mo na lang,” he added.
[Translation: Tulfo: Did you believe what he said about the confidential nature of it, even though there was only a single signature for so many names?
Acosta: He was the one who implemented the confidential activities.
Tulfo: For me, in this case, you were stupid in the name of blind loyalty. You became stupid in the name of blind loyalty. You blindly accepted whatever your superior said. You simply followed orders.]
When asked whether she agreed with Tulfo’s remarks, Acosta said she did not understand what the senator meant.
‘Different Acosta’
In a press briefing, House prosecutor Keith Flores pointed out that it appeared that Acosta was acting differently at the trial, as compared to how she faced the House committee on good government and public accountability in November 2024.
The panel investigated Duterte’s alleged fund misuse in the OVP and the Department of Education, which she headed in 2022 to 2024.
“Ibang Acosta ang nakita namin sa committee sa House. Ibang Acosta ito ngayon ang nakaharap sa Senado. In the way she answers, the way she responds to the questions, eto ngayon, parang binabalikan siyang answer lang. Binigay namin kay Lachica kasi siya ang may alam,” he said.
[Translation: We saw a different Acosta at the committee hearing in the House. Now, this is a different Acosta appearing before the Senate. In the way she answers and responds to the questions, it seems like she’s simply repeating her answers. We gave it to Lachica because he’s the one who’s knowledgeable about it.]
Ace Barbers, prosecution spokesperson, said while he does not see Acosta issuing ‘coached’ answers, the witness was evasive.
“The best way to evade a question is to stick with a line,” he said.
Meanwhile, House prosecutor Terry Ridon said after Acosta’s testimony at the Day 17 of the trial, it would appear that she and Lachica would face imprisonment.
He, however, emphasized that the vice president shouldn’t be spared from the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
“Mga ordinaryong kawani lang po ito. Ang kailangan po nating tiyaking makulong at matanggal sa pwesto, ang pangalawang pangulo,” Ridon said.
[Translation: They are ordinary employees. What we need to ensure is to remove the vice president from office and send her to jail.]
