Lawyer Jose “Judd” Roy III, one of the defense counsels of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, said special disbursing officer Gina Acosta’s transfer of P500 million in confidential funds to Vice President Sara Duterte’s designated security officer, Col. Raymund Lachica, was a “serious violation.”
Roy said Acosta, Lachica, and Duterte are all liable, as he noted that Acosta was not authorized to transfer the responsibility of disbursing the funds to someone else, but she did so on Duterte’s instruction.
“Can you imagine if we transpose that situation to the flood control funds? It’s supposed to be paid to X, and the money is given to someone else. Can you imagine the trouble we’d be in?” Roy said on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s “On Point.”
“So, is it a serious violation? Absolutely, because there’s accountability at several levels,” he added.
Acosta testified in Duterte’s impeachment trial that she gave the P500 million confidential funds she withdrew to Lachica on Duterte’s orders, and that he was the one who implemented the confidential fund activities.
Roy noted that Acosta appeared willing to take the bullet for now, but he said her repeated affirmation that Duterte gave her the order was telling.
“Why? Because over a protracted period of time, how can you not question what is going on? How can you not wonder why everything goes to this fellow, Lachica, even if he’s the security officer? She herself said he wasn’t bonded,” he said.
He said Acosta apparently knew that the Vice President was willing to cover her.
Asked who was liable, he said it was Acosta, Lachica, and the Vice President.
“You mean to tell me, because we can’t pinpoint what happened, we will say, ‘Well, sorry, it’s too bad because there seem to be gaps in the information each one knew,’” he added.
But Roy also said it was difficult to say who got the upper hand in the testimony of Acosta, who was declared a hostile witness.
He said while the prosecution was able to get her to confirm that Duterte gave the orders for the confidential fund use, it also had difficulty trying to get several points out.
He said the prosecution did not get a complete win because Acosta was able to keep several things vague, such as what happened to the funds beyond Lachica.
He noted that being an SDO requires more than having common sense, since the position is bonded, or insured by a fidelity bond that acts as insurance against potential losses of government funds.
Acosta should have raised concerns about the fund use, he said.
He said Acosta seemed to have been well-prepared either by herself or by somebody else, and noted that her testimony went more smoothly when she was talking to the defense counsel.
“Never let the little old lady fool you. How long has she been doing this job?… I think she goes back a long way with the Vice President. Do you have any doubt that she knows her job inside out? Do you have any doubt that she knows when something is amiss? She knows,” he said.