OVP's Ortonio says he paid for P150K confidential ops requested by Lachica

Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday said he paid for P150,000 out of his personal money to address the funding request of OVP Security officer Colonel Raymund Lachica for confidential operations.

Ortonio made the testimony during the direct examination of private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia during Day 18 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Inilapit po ito sa akin ni Maam Gina Acosta,” Ortonio, a hostile witness for the prosecution, said.

(Miss Gina Acosta came to me for this.)

The P150,000 was the discrepancy that the state auditors flagged since the OVP liquidated P125,150,000 of its confidential fund allocation in 2022 when it only received P125 million.

Asked if there was a documentary evidence that he paid for such request by Lachica, Ortonio replied by saying he granted Lachica’s request.

“Because of the urgency, humingi po ng tulong sa akin si Ms. Gina Acosta, I provided her with the request,” Ortonio said.

(Miss Gina Acosta asked me to help.)

Divinagracia then pointed out that the P150,000 that Ortonio paid for is just around P40,000 short of his monthly salary as the OVP Assistant Chief of Staff, which is just P180,000 to P190,000 at Salary Grade 29.

Divinagracia then asked Ortonio if he was reimbursed for the said P150,000, to which Ortonio said “Unfortunately, I was not reimbursed.”

"I wasn't reimbursed anymore," Ortonio said.

Ortonio also said that the P150,000 confidential expenses that he paid for was not reflected in the records of the OVP. — RSJ, GMA News