Congressman hits OVP execs

MANILA, Philippines — A leader in the House of Representatives has pointed to a possible staffing problem and accountability failure inside the Office of the Vice President (OVP) as issues surrounding its use of confidential funds continue to unravel before the Senate impeachment court.

Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V cited the repeated claims by OVP officials that they could not remember or did not know crucial details of the confidential funds used by the office.

“Maybe they had problem with HR because they seemed to have forgotten everything. They knew nothing,” he said.

Former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta and OVP Assistant Secretary and assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio were both declared hostile prosecution witnesses as the impeachment court examined how confidential funds were requested, released, implemented and liquidated under Duterte.

They both testified that they did not know how the confidential funds were used and that they put their trust in Vice President Sara Duterte and her security chief Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, whom she had tasked to handle the funds.

Ortega said government personnel entrusted with public funds are expected to perform their assigned responsibilities regardless of how much trust they place in their superiors.

“It means they’re blind followers. They just release funds, unmindful of where they would end up,” Ortega said.

Acosta testified that she turned over the funds to Lachica, the former head of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, per Duterte’s instruction, while Ortonio testified on documents and processes involving the funds but repeatedly qualified the extent of his personal knowledge.

For Ortega, the recurring inability of officials directly involved in the transactions to explain what happened after the money left their hands raises questions about whether basic staff work was performed at all.