Duterte defense concedes authenticity of P500 million OVP checks

Vice President Sara Duterte's defense on Wednesday acknowledged the authenticity of four government checks totaling P500 million and admitted they were encashed by the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) special disbursing officer.

Defense counsel Michael Poa made the stipulation during the testimony of former Land Bank branch manager Violeta Constantino, one of the prosecution's first witnesses under the impeachment article accusing Duterte of misusing confidential funds.

"Just to expedite the proceedings, Your Honor, we are willing to stipulate that the witness has the ability to identify these checks. And we are also not questioning the authenticity of such checks," Poa told the impeachment court.

Poa further stipulated that the checks had been issued by the Bureau of the Treasury and were encashed by Gina Acosta, who served as the OVP's special disbursing officer.

Following the defense's stipulation, Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero ruled that Constantino no longer needed to testify on those points and instructed the House prosecution panel to move on to the remaining evidence.

The defense also waived its right to cross-examine after Constantino completed her testimony.

The four Treasury checks are among the principal financial records relied on by House prosecutors to trace the movement of confidential funds released to the OVP in late 2022.

House prosecutors allege that ₱500 million was withdrawn in cash over a short period, including ₱125 million disbursed within 11 days, and argue the transactions formed part of irregular handling of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to Duterte through the OVP and, later, the Department of Education.

Duterte has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the confidential funds were used for lawful intelligence.###