Lapid questions Acosta over P45M, names in OVP fund receipts

Photo courtesy: Senate of the Philippines FB Page

Abi Sarabia M., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
August 25, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — Senator-judge Lito Lapid questioned former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta on Monday over P45 million in confidential funds and acknowledgment receipts bearing his surname during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

Lapid raised the questions on the 17th day of the trial as the Senate impeachment court continued hearing evidence under Article I, which covers allegations involving Duterte’s use of confidential funds at the OVP and the Department of Education.

His questioning first focused on the P125 million in confidential funds released by the OVP in December 2022.

Acosta had previously testified that P80 million of the amount was initially given to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, then head of Duterte’s security group. Lapid asked what happened to the remaining P45 million.

Acosta said the balance was kept in the OVP vault and later released to Lachica after he submitted a fund utilization report and supporting documents.

“Nag-submit po sa akin si security officer Lachica… ng fund utilization report… at saka may dala na po din siyang object of expenditure… na ’yun ang binabasehan ko… na i-release ko po ’yung remaining pera,” Acosta told the court.

(Security Officer Lachica submitted a fund utilization report and an object of expenditure, which became my basis for releasing the remaining money.)

Acosta has repeatedly testified that Lachica handled the actual confidential operations and provided her with the documents used to account for the funds. She also said she did not personally know the identities of several people listed as recipients in the acknowledgment receipts.

Lapid raises questions over names in receipts

Lapid later turned his attention to acknowledgment receipts containing the surname “Lapid,” after prosecutors earlier presented documents bearing the names of supposed confidential fund recipients.

He joked that if the individuals were real, they could be relatives, citing what his father used to tell him about people who shared their surname.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako kung totoong Lapid ’yun. Kamag-anak ko po kasi. Sabi po kasi ng tatay ko, basta Lapid, kamag-anak ko,” he said.

(I would be grateful if that Lapid were real because they would be my relative. My father used to say that anyone with the surname Lapid is my relative.)

Lapid then questioned whether the names were aliases and raised concern over the use of his family name for people who may not be identified by their real names.

“Eh kung hindi, kung alias ’yun, papaano ’yung pangalan at apelyido namin na in-alias n’yo lang pala, hindi totoong tao?” he asked.

(But what if it is an alias? What about our name and surname if it was merely used as an alias and the person is not identified by their real name?)

Acosta replied that the documents came from Lachica, whom Duterte had designated to implement the OVP’s confidential activities.

During Monday’s proceedings, Acosta acknowledged that several names appearing on OVP acknowledgment receipts were aliases rather than the recipients’ real names. She said she relied on Lachica and the documents he submitted in accounting for the confidential funds.

Acosta’s testimony forms part of the prosecution’s evidence under Article I of the impeachment case, which involves allegations of misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds at the OVP and DepEd.