Prosecution not keen on presenting Lachica, Nolasco in VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial

The House prosecution team is not looking to call in military officials Colonel Raymund Lachica and Colonel Dennis Nolasco as witnesses for the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte due to credibility issues.

Prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said that even if both of them received the more than ₱612.5 million confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as Education chief, the prosecution cannot readily verify the accuracy of the testimony of Lachica and Nolasco since they were not called in to testify during the 2024 House good government and public accountability panel inquiry into the budget use of the OVP and DepEd.

The situation is different in the case of former OVP special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, who told the Senate impeachment court that she released the ₱500 million worth of confidential fund of the OVP to Lachica on the orders of Duterte even if such action is not allowed under the 2015 guidelines on the use of confidential and intelligence funds.

Prior to her testimony at the Senate impeachment court on Monday, Acosta made the same testimony in 2024 during a hearing conducted by the House good government and public accountability committee.

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).

“We will take guidance from the House panel. There probably is wisdom in them not calling the military officials in. Besides, they may not want to incriminate themselves. Baka magsabi sila ng testimony roon na imbento lang,” Kapunan said in an online press conference on Wednesday.

(They might give testimony that is just made up.)

“Baka kung anong sabihin nila roon. Even if they are subpoenaed as hostile witness, there may be a concern about their credibility because we cannot cross check their accounts on transcripts of the House panel inquiry,” she added.

(They could say anything there.)

Section 6.6.1 of the Joint Circular 2015-01 governing the use of confidential and intelligence funds provides that “Cash advances for confidential or intelligence fund should be drawn by duly designated and bonded SDOs or head of agency for the implementation of a program, activity, and project chargeable to the corresponding confidential or intelligence fund of the agency, upon approval of the head of agency” and that “under no circumstance shall it be used for liquidation of the previous cash advance or be transferred from one accountable [officer] to another.”

During the 2024 House inquiry, then DepEd SDO Edward Fajarda also told lawmakers that he releases P4 million to P6 million of DepEd’s confidential fund allocation to Nolasco on a weekly basis on the orders of the Vice President.

House prosecution team impeachment adviser and former Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers, for his part, said that the prosecution team is constantly assessing the necessity of fielding a particular witness to boost its impeachment case against the vice president.

“The prosecutors will assess the necessity of such and then when there is good reason to, I'm sure we will invite and ask for a subpoena for them,” Barbers added.

In the same press conference, the prosecution team said the vice president should have no problem explaining how she uses the budget of her office and even her personal resources because she is a public official.

The prosecution was responding to the statement of the Duterte that transparency and accountability should be demanded for all government offices, not just her office.

“If you (Vice President) want transparency, you should start with yourself. Where are you spending your billions in vice presidential funds? Her office got ₱2.3 billion budget in 2023, the biggest allocation for the OVP. If you are pointing a finger at all other government agencies, there are three fingers pointing back at you,” Kapunan said.

“So you start with yourself and start with presenting yourself, accounting for public funds in the impeachment court. You also say you use personal funds, [then] how do you explain your personal funds?” she added.

Barbers, for his part, said transparency applies to all aspects of governance.

“Transparency involves details where the public official goes. Kailangan nakikita ng taong bayan saan napupunta ang ating pondong ginagamit dito,” Barbers added.

(The public should see where their money is spent on.)

The Senate impeachment court is tackling Article 1 of the impeachment case against Duterte which alleged her misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds—P500 million from the OVP, and P112.5 million from the DepEd.

The court will resume the trial hearing on Monday. —KG, GMA News