Acosta admits she had no background in confidential operations

Former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta said on Monday she did not know why Vice President Sara Duterte chose her to handle hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds, despite having no background or training in confidential operations.

Asked by prosecution lawyer Amando Ligutan why Duterte selected her as special disbursing officer (SDO) for both the OVP and the Davao City government, Acosta said: "Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako ang kinuha ng Bise President as an SDO."

She said she had no background in confidential operations and had not undergone training for such activities.

Acosta said she had no background in confidential operations and had not received training for such activities. She holds a degree in Customs Administration and said there was no requirement for an SDO to have specialized training in confidential operations.

Ligutan pressed Acosta on why she had been selected for the role if she had no experience in confidential operations. He asked whether she had become an SDO because she simply followed orders.

"I'm not blind," Acosta replied.

"Basta ako, ginagawa ko lang, Your Honor, ang aking pagiging SDO," she added.

Under the Joint Circular No. 2015-01, an SDO is the head of agency or a regular employee designated by the head of agency "to be in charge of making disbursements of CF and/or IF so received and accountable therefore."

The circular also requires disbursements of confidential and intelligence funds to be supported by documentary evidence of payment, placed in a sealed envelope signed by the SDO and kept in the office vault.

Acosta personally encashed four checks worth 125 million pesos each, or 500 million pesos in total, for the OVP between December 2022 and July 2023. She testified that Duterte instructed her to turn over the money to then OVP security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, who was not a bonded accountable officer.

'Blind loyalty'

Asked who the intended recipients were, she said: "Wala po akong alam." She said Lachica was the person who knew the intended recipients and that she had no say in when the funds were released.

She said she relied on documents submitted by Lachica after the confidential activities had been carried out. "Nag-base ko rin sa mga documents na binigay sa akin ni Col. Lachica after matapos ang pag-implement ng confidential funds," she said.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo later challenged Acosta over documents submitted by Lachica that contained names purportedly identifying confidential informants, including "Belat," "Pagong" and "Pusa."

"If you are normal or average person, papakag ka naman, 'Teka muna, Colonel, bakit ganito?'" Tulfo said, questioning why Acosta was not suspicious that different names appeared under one signature.

Acosta said she referred the document to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, who told her the names were sensitive and confidential.

"So naniwala kayo sa sinabi niya na confidential in nature kasi na iisa lang ang signature sa napakaraming pangalan? You took his word for it?" Tulfo asked.

Acosta said she relied on Lachica because he was the official tasked with implementing the confidential activities.

"Kasi siya po ang nag-implement sa mga confidential activities, Your Honor, on the grounds. Siya po ang inatasan na mag-implement, siya po ang implementor, Your Honor," she said.

"For me, in this case, you are stupid in the name of blind loyalty," he said.

'What did you actually decide?'

Sen. Joel Villanueva separately walked Acosta through the stages of disbursing confidential funds and repeatedly asked what decisions she had made using her own judgment.

"Sa alin pong desisyon ang ginawa ninyo using your own judgment? Yung kayo talaga yung nag-decide?" Villanueva asked.

When Acosta struggled to answer, Villanueva repeated the question, noting that her testimony appeared to show that she neither knew the details of the confidential activities nor made decisions concerning them.

Acosta replied that her job was to process the paperwork related to obtaining confidential funds.

Villanueva then asked whether Acosta would change her actions after receiving an audit observation, notice of suspension or notice of disallowance from the Commission on Audit.

The Senator-judge then characterized her testimony as suggesting that documents simply passed through her and were approved as long as they met the requirements she was checking.

"So ang sinasabi niyo po ay parang dumadaan lang po sa inyo at kung ano ang dumaan sa inyo, ina-aprobahan niyo lang po," he said.

Acosta rejected the characterization, saying she was performing her duties faithfully. "Your Honor, ginagawa ko po ang aking tungkulin bilang SDO. Ginagawa ko po ng tapat, Your Honor," she said.###