Who is Col. Raymund Lachica, mentioned at VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial?

One of the names that repeatedly came up at the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, particularly in the tackling of the alleged misuse of confidential funds, was the former head of her security detail.

Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica was the former group commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Security and Protection Group (ASPG), previously known as the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).

He was relieved from the post and reassigned back to the Philippine Army in October 2025, following his alleged involvement in the supposed misuse of confidential funds by the Vice President.

“The reassignment was made in view of an existing case filed before the Office of the Ombudsman involving Colonel Lachica and [ex-VPSPG deputy commander Colonel Dennis Nolasco],” the AFP said in a statement.

Lachica was promoted to the rank of colonel in January 2019, when he was he was director of the Philippine Army Special Service Center.

In November 2024, both Lachica and Duterte faced direct assault, disobedience to authority, and grave coercion complaints over the detention of Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez. Video showed that as Lopez was being transferred into an ambulance, Duterte shouted at an official of the PNP Health Service, while Lachica, put his hand on him and pushed him away.

According to the PNP, the actions of Duterte’s staff may have interfered with the lawful detention order issued by the House of Representatives, as well as disrupted the operations at both the detention center and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).

Acosta testimony

To recall, in a House committee hearing in November 2024, disbursement officers from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd)—which was previously headed by Duterte—said that millions of pesos in confidential funds were transferred to Lachica and Nolasco.

During the impeachment trial on Monday, August 17, former OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta reaffirmed her November 2024 testimony that it was the Vice President who asked her to disburse the P125-million confidential funds to Lachica.

Acosta said that she released a total of P500 million of confidential funds in 2022 and 2023 to Lachica on the orders of Duterte, as well as Lachica’s expertise on security matters even if existing guidelines do not allow it.

Meanwhile, Ramil Madriaga, who identified himself as a former aide and bagman of Duterte, also claimed that he was ordered by Lachica and Nolasco to deliver four duffle bags, each containing up to P35 million, to different individuals.

This is the same Madriaga who alleged that drug dealers and Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) operators were funding the campaign “Inday Sara Duterte is My President (ISIP) Pilipinas.”

Lachica, in March this year, denied the accusations linking him to POGO and drug money, saying the claims of Madriaga were “completely baseless.”

Lachica back then said the matter was brought before the appropriate authorities “where evidence can be properly examined and the facts objectively established.”

“I remain confident that the legal process will ultimately reveal the truth and expose the baseless nature of these accusations. I also urge all parties to respect the ongoing legal proceedings and refrain from further attempts to litigate this issue in the court of public opinion,” the former VPSPG chief said.

“The public deserves the truth—and the truth will come out through the proper process of law,” he continued. — BM, GMA News