Ortonio admits accompanying Gina Acosta to encash OVP confidential funds checks

Office of the Vice President (OVP) Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio on Tuesday confirmed that he was with OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta when she encashed checks for confidential funds.

Ortonio said this during his direct examination on the 18th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, when private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia asked if he was the lone company of Acosta when she encashed checks in the LandBank Shaw Boulevard branch.

“Just to clarify, Mr. Ortonio, in all four instances of encashment, sa apat na encashment ng apat na tseke, ikaw lamang ang kasama ni Ms. Gina Acosta na mag-encash at mag-withdraw ng pondo. Tama ba?” Divinagracia asked.

(Just to clarify, Mr. Ortonio, in all four instances, the encashment of the four checks, you were the only one with Ms. Gina Acosta to encash and withdraw the funds. Is that correct?)

Ortonio answered in the affirmative.

Divinagracia was referring to the four checks of P125 million each, which were encashed by Acosta between December 2022 and July 2023.

She then asked if Ortonio accompanied Acosta to the bank upon the instruction of the Vice President.

“‘Yung pag-accompany ko kay (my accompanying of) Ms. Gina, it’s based on the request of Ms. Gina,” Ortonio answered.

The prosecution lawyer pressed Ortonio if Duterte knew that he accompanied the OVP’s disbursing officer.

“That, I cannot confirm ma'am, if Ms. Gina was able to inform the Vice President,” he said.

The Senate impeachment court earlier on Tuesday declared Ortonio as a hostile witness after he confirmed that he will lose his job if Duterte is impeached and removed from office, given that his appointment in the OVP is coterminous.

Acosta, also a hostile witness previously fielded by the House prosecution panel, said that four duffel bags have been used to carry the P125 million in confidential funds. —AOL, GMA News