Prosecution uses AI to simulate what P125 million in cash looks like

MANILA, Philippines – During the direct examination of the Office of the Vice President’s former special disbursing officer, Gina Acosta, during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, the House prosecution presented an artificial intelligence (AI) simulation of P125 million in cash.

The AI-generated images of the P125 million cash, bundled and stacked, were used to verify Acosta after it was established that she picked up the same amount in confidential funds at a LandBank branch. According to Acosta, the P125 million was piled and sealed per million bundled in one thousand-peso bills.

Prosecution counsel Amando Ligutan presented the image for comparison, citing Acosta’s admission that she was “not well-versed” with measurements.

Article continues after this advertisement

Shortly after, defense counsel Lindon Miguel Bacquel asked how the image was produced, clarifying it is AI generated.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

“Yes. Because we don’t have P125 million in cold cash so we had to resort to technology,” Ligutan answered, before asking Acosta whether or not the image was similar to the bundles of money that she testified to picking up.

Without confirming, Acosta instead answered that the P125 million in cash were put into two boxes.

READ: Duterte trial: Tulfo loses cool at Acosta struggling to speak Filipino

Presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero noted that Ligutan’s question was simply asking Acosta on the size of the P125 million cash in bundles, instructing the witness to make a measurement with her arms.

Article continues after this advertisement

Each box, according to Acosta’s gestures, was approximately as high as her upper abdomen to the top of her head, and nearly as wide as the witness stand, just a ruler shorter.

Acosta then said that the bundles were removed from the box, and moved to four “travelling bags na oblong.”

Article continues after this advertisement

After this description, Ligutan brought out a physical simulation of ten bundles of P1 million each using paper to represent the one thousand-peso bills.

Quickly opposing thereafter was Bacquel who said: “I would like to interpose an objection as to presenting the witness those props the defense is uncertain as to how is that an accurate representation of what the prosecution claims that to be.”

“These appear to just be blue colored lengthwise papers wrapped in plastic, with 10 bundles each. How is this an accurate representation of what the prosecution claim to be?” Bacquel further noted.

Escudero acknowledged the objection, but allowed the presentation nonetheless.

Ligutan then proceeded, asking Acosta if the fake bundles presented before her were the same as what she had transported in duffel bags.

Though seemingly reluctant to answer at first, Acosta later told the court: “May similarity po, your honor.”

READ: Inclement weather forces early suspension of Monday’s impeachment trial

Leaving the paper bundles on the witness stand while Ligutan continued his questioning, Bacquel asked for the “props to be removed,” but the prosecution lawyer explained that it will still be used later on.

Ligutan continued, this time, asking Acosta how she carried around the several bundles of money on her own after it was established that P125 million in cash seemed to be difficult to be transported alone.

Acosta said that she sought help from one other person to carry the bags, OVP assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, but later she clarified that security personnel from Landbank helped carry the cash-filled bags outside of the branch’s building.

It was after this line of questioning that Ligutan gave in to the defense’s request of removing the simulated piles of money.

Ligutan then brought up the four duffle bags, asking Acosta the size of each.

Acosta made an estimate using gestures once again, making an oblong while extending her arms forward.

Screengrab from Senate livestream of Impeachment Trial of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte (August 17, 2026)

The prosecution, at this time, showed another AI-generated image to simulate what the money could look like inside four bags, asking Acosta whether this was similar to what she brought.

“Hindi ganiyan, your honor kasi ang opening niyan ay round. Yung dinala ko pong bag paganoon po ang zipper,” Acosta responded while miming the opening of a bag with a straight zipper only,” Acosta said.

(Not like that, your honor, because the opening is round. The bag I brought has a zipper like that.)

But she affirmed that there were four black bags, and that she herself put the money into the bags.

Asked about the weight of the bags, Acosta said she could not recall, saying that she did not carry any of the bags after they were filled with cash.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

Instead, she recalled that the Landbank guards dragged two bags each into two separate vehicles of the OVP. /jpv