‘The image is not part of the record and does not establish that he wore such a device or received outside assistance. The chair therefore makes no finding against him.’
Office of the Vice President Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, the second hostile witness, during the 19th day of the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte in Pasay City on Wednesday, 26 August, 2026.
SPPA POOL
The Senate impeachment court has strictly prohibited witnesses from using telecommunications devices after a close aide of Vice President Sara Duterte appeared to have on an earpiece supposedly to receive coaching as he gave his testimony on the alleged misuse of confidential funds last week.
Presiding officer Senator Chiz Escudero on Tuesday dismissed as “false” the speculation that hostile witness Lemuel Ortonio was wearing an earpiece, saying the widely circulated social media photos were actually “AI-generated.”
“The image is not part of the record and does not establish that he wore such a device or received outside assistance. The chair therefore makes no finding against him,” Escudero said at the start of the 20th day of the impeachment trial.
Instead, he said, the object on Ortonio’s ear was a front-fold helix ear piercing.
He, however, acknowledged that the controversy underscored the need for the impeachment court to enforce strict safeguards to prevent witnesses from being tampered with or coached through any communication, signal, prompt, or assistance from anyone inside or outside the courtroom while the trial is ongoing.
As a result, any person sitting in the witness chair will be barred from possessing, wearing, accessing, or using any cellphone, smartwatch, earpiece, headset, smart glasses, or other device capable of transmitting or receiving communications.
The clerk of court was directed to confiscate any prohibited devices before a witness is sworn in and to obtain the witness’s confirmation of compliance on the record.
“The court need not wait for actual coaching to occur. Once testimony is compromised, the harm to the truth-seeking process may be impossible to cure. A clear preventive rule is therefore necessary,” Escudero said.
A witness will also be barred from discussing the substance of his or her testimony with any person during a break or recess.
Any necessary medical, accessibility, interpretation, or evidentiary device, and any consultation unrelated to the substance of the testimony shall require the prior approval of the presiding officer. Violators will face contempt and disciplinary actions from the court.
Ortonio appeared before the impeachment court on 25 and 26 August as a hostile witness for the prosecution.
He is not only the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Office of the Vice President but is also in charge of the OVP’s Strategy Management Office, which oversees the agency’s budget.
Ortonio was instrumental in processing the P500 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP from December 2022 to mid-2023, although he denied any knowledge of its actual use on the ground.
He said he accompanied OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta — also a hostile witness — in encashing the confidential funds in four tranches of P125 million each at the LandBank Shaw Branch and placing them in gym bags.
