On the 10th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, two former LandBank branch managers testified that the withdrawals made by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) totaling P612.5 million were "unusual” but not “illegal.”

Prosecution witnesses Violeta Constantino and Nenita Camposano, who previously managed LandBank's Shaw Boulevard and DepEd Pasig branches, described the specific cash withdrawals by the OVP and DepEd under Duterte's leadership as “unusual.”

The two were presented to testify on Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, which alleges that the Vice President committed culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds – P500 million from the OVP and P112.5 million from DepEd.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

Constantino was the first to take the witness stand, where she testified that she oversaw the encashment of four checks worth P125 million each by OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta between December 2022 and July 2023.

The defense panel opted to forgo its initial cross-examination, paving the way for the senator-judges to raise their questions and interjections.

When asked by Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo whether such transactions were normal for a government agency, Constantino testified that she had never encountered similar transactions by other government agencies during her 32 years at LandBank, describing them as unusual.

"Wala po. Unusual po ito," Constantino said.

Tulfo also asked whether the bank sought an explanation for the purpose of the cash withdrawals.

"Kasi po may advice naman na po siya, so kumbaga dumaan naman po ito sa proseso nila kaya I don't think po na magtanong pa kami," Constantino said.

Constantino said that she was unaware the cash withdrawals would be used for confidential funds.

Senator-Judge Bam Aquino then asked whether the bank had reported the transactions, which had been described as "unusual," to authorities, but Constantino declined to disclose details, citing confidentiality rules.

"I'm sorry, Your Honor, may we invoke po 'yung AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) rule na hindi po kami pwedeng mag-disclose any information po regarding sa reporting," Constantino said.

However, she confirmed that all cash transactions exceeding P500,000, whether made by private individuals or government agencies, are reported to the AMLC**.**

Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano pointed out that a bank transaction being described as “unusual” does not necessarily mean it is “illegal.”

“My point is just because it’s unusual, it doesn’t mean it’s illegal or whatever, tama po ba?

“Wala naman pong illegal doon sa encashment po,” Constantino answered.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

After a brief lunch recess, Camposano took the witness stand and also described the encashment of checks by former DepEd Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda as “unusual.”

Camposano testified on the encashment of three checks worth P112.5 million in total (P37.5 million each) by DepEd from February to July 2023 when Duterte was still the agency’s secretary.

"With LandBank DepEd po, for government agencies, ano siya, unusual po ang amount ang pag-withdraw," Camposano said in response to the question of Senator-Judge Francis Pangilinan.

Camposano, who had worked at LandBank for 34 years, said the usual cash transactions at the DepEd branch only reached around P10 million, adding that it was her first time to handle P37.5-million cash transactions three times in a year.

"Ngayon lang po 'yung time na may encashment na ganu'n kalaki," she said.

Camposano also said she had no idea that the funds released were for DepEd's confidential funds.

Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros asked Camposano what measures she took as branch manager to verify that the transactions had been authorized by Duterte.

"Dumaan po kasi 'yan sa DBM (Department of Budget and Management), approved ng DBM po 'yan, na-release po ang pondo ni BTr (Bureau of the Treasury). Mayroon po 'yang advice and pirmado po ng mga authorized signatories ng DepEd," Camposano said.

However, Camposano said that the DepEd cash transactions were not considered “suspicious” under banking procedures.

She clarified that an “unusual” transaction is different from a “suspicious” transaction.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Camposano also told the court said that Fajarda left the bank through a fire exit after each transaction.

“Ilalagay na ni Mr. Fajarda sa dala niyang bag at lalabas na sila sa fire exit sa may backdoor namin… Paglabas po nila sa fire exit, hindi na po namin sila nakikita,” she said.

During a brief cross-examination, defense lawyer Michael Poa, who was a former DepEd undersecretary under Duterte, asked Camposano to explain why Fajarda exited the bank through the fire exit after the cash withdrawals.

“Lumabas po siya sa fire exit dahil ang LandBank ay nakadikit sa DepEd compound, hindi po ba?… Lumabas siya dahil safer dahil nasa loob na siya ng DepEd, tama po ba?” Poa asked.

Camposano answered yes.

NEXT WITNESSES

The Senate impeachment court has granted the House prosecution panel’s motion for the court to issue a subpoena the former and incumbent state auditors to testify in the next proceedings.

The court has ordered the issuance of a subpoena to Roderick Wamil, former state auditor of the Commission on Audit’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Office (COA-ICFAO) and Celine May Del Campo, state auditor of COA ICFAO, both of the COA Central Office.

Aside from the COA officials, also ordered to testify by the court was Marivic Pareja, director of House of Representatives Legislative Information Resources Management Department.

The request to issue subpoenas for the three individuals was filed by House lead prosecutor and Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro.

“Your honor, these three witnesses are intended to be presented on August 3, August 4, and August 5 trial schedules,” Luistro said.