THE prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is considering calling two military officers who were identified as recipients of the confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd).
House prosecutor and San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora said the panel has yet to decide whether to present Col. Raymund Dante Lachica and Col. Dennis Nolasco before the Senate impeachment court.
“It is still being discussed whether they will be presented,” Zamora said in Filipino in a post-trial briefing on Monday.
Former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta testified that it was Vice President Duterte who gave the order to turn over P125 million in OVP confidential funds to Lachica.
Former DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda, meanwhile, previously disclosed that DepEd’s confidential funds were handed to Nolasco.
The OVP received P500 million in confidential funds from December 2022 to September 2023, while DepEd received P112.5 million in 2023 when Duterte was education secretary.
The combined P612.5 million is under scrutiny in Article I of her impeachment trial.
House prosecution spokesman and former Surigao del Norte representative Robert Ace Barbers said the roles of the two officers could be explored as Acosta continues testifying as a hostile witness.
The testimony of Lachica and Nolasco could help establish what happened to the confidential funds after they were released by Acosta and Fajarda, the prosecutors said.
In a separate virtual press briefing, counsel to the prosecution and spokesman Benjamin Tolosa said apart from Fajarda and OVP assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio, they have more witnesses lined up to shed light on the supposed misuse of the confidential funds under the vice president’s watch.
“Let us look forward to the upcoming witnesses listed in the pre-trial order; there are many names included there — such as representatives from the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authorithy), a handwriting expert, and ... representatives from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Tolosa said.
“So, let us await their testimonies; however, we can assure you that these are witnesses who, in our view, are truly material and relevant, and whose accounts will contribute something very necessary to this matter,” he added.
