The Office of the Vice President (OVP) Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta admitted to disbursing Php 125 million in confidential funds from Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte’s office and the Department of Education (DepEd).
During the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s hearing on Monday, Acosta recalled the time when she signed the two offices’ disbursement voucher. The cheque worth Php 125 million, was issued and signed under her name.
According to Acosta, the OVP’s Cash Division ordered her to encash the cheque at the Shaw Boulevard branch of Land Bank, on December 20, 2022. However, Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro identified one detail during the encashment process.
The Congresswoman said that the date of the disbursement voucher, the date of the cheque, and the encashment of the cheque were all issued on the same date, December 20, 2022. Considering the huge amount of money disbursed, Luistro asked Acosta to walk them through the process.
Four Different Bags
Acosta recalled how she was accompanied by the OVP Assistant Chief of Staff and Bids and Awards Committee Chairperson Lemuel Ortonio. The two went to the bank in two separate cars, stashing the Php 125 million in four different bags.
“Pagkatapos po, kung ang pera ay nasa apat na na bag, tinutulungan kami ng security guard ng Landbank na isakay sa sasakyan,” Acosta said.
The chunk of money was placed separately, divided into at least 30 million each per bag. Moreover, Acosta claimed that the bank’s security guards helped them carry the bags into the car.
Transporting the Money
During Luistro’s interpellation, she questioned whether Acosta ever considered the dangers surrounding the whole process of transporting the money.
“Hindi po ba kayo natakot mag bitbit ng ganitong kalaking halaga ng pera? Considering the possibility na baka ma-holdup kayo. Remember, you are covered by a fidelity bond, and one of the reasons is the possibility of losing this huge amount of money,” Luistro asked.
Acosta said that she and Ortonio traveled in two separate cars, with only their respective drivers inside. This strategy was done because the former believed that if one car gets robbed, at least they’ll still have at least half the money left that’s in a different car.
“At least dalawang sasakyan, hiwalay. At least kung ma-holdup man, meron pang isa,” Acosta said.
While Acosta was encashing the cheque, she had already thought of the possibility of being robbed. That’s why she suggested that she and Ortonio travel in separate cars. However, Luistro inquired why she did not ask for the other OVP security officers’ help. If robbers try to steal a small amount of money from other people, then traveling with millions of money is a huge risk, considering that the funds came from the government, Luistro pointed out.
“We’re watching (the) news diba, cellphone lang namamatay na. Small amount of money lang namamatay na. How much more this P125 million which apparently do not belong to you, but belong to the government,” Luistro stressed.
