A top aide to Vice President Sara Duterte told the impeachment court Tuesday the Office of the Vice President had asked for P250 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) in 2022 even before it had come up with a list of projects for the funds.

OVP Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio admitted during direct examination by private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia that the only document attached to the agency’s letter to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) was an explanation of the OVP’s need for the CIF.

Divinagracia noted that the OVP in the letter only “committed” to formulating programs, projects, and activities relevant to national security and peace and order, which was against standard procedure.

The letter, dated 22 August 2022 and signed by Duterte, showed that the OVP initially requested P250 million in CIF, but the DBM approved only P125 million, releasing it on 13 December of that year.

“The determination of the amount was [at] the discretion of the Vice President,” said Ortonio, the second hostile witness of the prosecution.

The P125 million was taken from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s contingency fund, the transfer of which was branded by several opposition lawmakers as unconstitutional since there was no line item for it in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

The amount represented the first tranche of the P500 million in total CIF received by Duterte’s office from December 2022 to mid-2023. The OVP utilized the P125 million from 21 to 31 December, a period of 11 days.

Of the amount, P73.3 million was disallowed by the Commission on Audit due to the lack of relevant documents proving the funds were used for information-gathering or surveillance activities for which the funds were intended.

Divinagracia questioned how the OVP arrived at a request for such a hefty amount without projections or physical and financial plans to justify the confidential expenses, given that Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2015-0 mandates that all CIF allocations must be supported by a physical and financial plan.

“In fact, there [were] no attachments supporting the OVP’s request for confidential funds,” Divinagracia pointed out.

The prosecutor also questioned the lack of computations breaking down the expenses for the CIF in the request letter, to which Ortonio replied, “That’s correct. No computation.”

Later in the trial, the evidence showed the OVP submitted its physical and financial plan to the DBM only on 19 September 2022, nearly a month after the initial request was made.

Ortonio insisted he had no hand in preparing the OVP’s physical and financial plan.

The letter in question outlined the intended use of the CIF for the safe implementation of various activities and programs under the OVP’s “Good Governance Program” and for the official engagements and representation in international and domestic events as instructed by the Vice President.

Duterte’s request for the CIF came two months after she assumed the vice presidency. Ortonio acknowledged that the OVP utilized the P125 million in 11 days because any unspent funds at the end of the fiscal year would be returned to the National Treasury.

Ortonio was instrumental in processing the CIF, although he denied knowledge of its actual use on the ground.

He accompanied OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta — also a hostile witness — in encashing the CIF in four tranches from the LandBank Shaw branch and placed the cash in gym bags.

Acosta earlier confirmed that she released P125 million in confidential and intelligence funds in four tranches to Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group commander Col. Raymund Lachica, the supposed implementer of OVP ground operations.

Ortonio said the encashment and payment of CIF from late 2022 to 2023 were made under his authorization, noting that this was part of the duties assigned to him by Duterte.

Ortonio oversees the OVP’s internal affairs. These include administrative and financial services, as well as the Strategy Management Office, which oversees the agency’s budget.

Like Acosta, Ortonio has been a longtime aide to Duterte. He served as her chief of staff when Duterte was vice mayor of Davao City in 2008 and later when she was mayor from 2010 to 2013.

Both Acosta and Ortonio joined the OVP in June 2022 after Duterte won the vice presidential race.