Sara Duterte secret fund recipient shares Hontiveros’ surname, birthday

MANILA, Philippines— One of the alleged recipients of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds not only shared the last name of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, but also her birthday, the senator herself pointed out on Monday.

The name Clarisse Hontiveros appeared in an acknowledgement receipt  (AR) presented during Duterte’s impeachment trial last August 11 in connection with her alleged misuse of confidential funds.

READ: Piatos, Heart: Familiar names surface in Sara Duyerte’s CF records

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Based on the AR, the  Office of the  Vice President (OVP) supposedly paid the recipient P500,000 on February 24, 2023 “for the purchase or rental of supplies, materials  and equipment for confidential operations.”

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“Ang nakakagulat po Ms. Gina, yung petsa kung kelan daw binayaran ang Clarisse Hontiveros ay February 24, 2023. Petsa po ng birthday ko. Napakalaking coincidence po,”  Hontiveros said in the ongoing impeachment trial on Monday.

(What’s surprising, Ms. Gina, is that the date when Clarisse Hontiveros was supposedly paid was February 24, 2023—which happens to be my birthday. That’s quite a remarkable coincidence.)

“May reaction   o comment po ba kayo sa ganung pambihirang detalye ng petsa?” the senator asked Acosta, who presented as a hostile witness by the  prosecution  team.

(Do you have any reaction or comment on such an unusual coincidence involving the date?)

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Acosta repeated that she verified all ARs with  Duterte’s former security officer, Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, who implemented all confidential activities of the OVP.  

“Tapos ang sagot ni Col. Lachica: Ma’am Gina, sensitive information po yun at saka confidential in nature. At saka din sya naman po Ma’am ang may alam . Sya po ang nag-implement po ng mga  activities in relation to confidential funds at sya po ang tinalaga  ni Vice President Sara Duterte na security officer po,” the witness said.

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(Then Col. Lachica replied: “Ma’am Gina, that is sensitive information and confidential in nature. Also, Ma’am, she is the one who has knowledge of it. She was the one who implemented the activities related to the confidential funds, and she was the one designated by Vice President Sara Duterte as the security officer.)

READ: Sara Duterte’s ex-security-officer-invokes-confidentiality-on-secret-funds

“So tinanong  at venerify nyo ito na yung petsa  ng acknowledgment receipt kay Clarisse Hontiveros ay birthday ko? Napansin nyo  rin  pala po na, “wow parehong birthday dun sa isang Hontiveros,’” the senator asked.

(So you asked and verified that the date on the acknowledgment receipt for Clarisse Hontiveros was my birthday? You also noticed it that, ‘wow,  the same birthday with another Hontiveros.’”)

Acosta clarified she did not know that the date in the receipt was the senator’s birthday.

“Sabi nyo kasi  tinanong nyo at venerify  nyo kay Col. Lachica,”  Hontiveros pointed out.

(Because you said you asked Col. Lachica and verified it with him.)

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The witness maintained that she verified the receipts with Lachica, noting that some of the documents had no signatures or dates, while the names on others were illegible. /mr