Castro Claims Imee Marcos Is Working to Get VP Duterte Off the Hook
IMEE MARCOS – A fresh controversy unfolded in VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial as Claire Castro claimed that Imee Marcos’ line of questioning appeared aimed at getting the Vice President off the hook.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Tuesday accused Senator-judge Imee Marcos of attempting to clear Vice President Sara Duterte of allegations involving the alleged misuse of confidential funds during the latter’s impeachment trial.
The accusation came on the 17th day of Duterte’s impeachment proceedings, where Marcos repeatedly questioned former Office of the Vice President (OVP) Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta about Duterte’s direct involvement in handling the confidential funds.
Marcos specifically asked Acosta whether she had personally seen the Vice President receive, take, or keep any of the money that had been released. Acosta replied that she never witnessed Duterte physically taking possession of or retaining the funds.
Castro said that while Marcos was entitled to question the witness as a senator-judge, the apparent direction of her questioning was clear.
“First and foremost, she wants to get the vice president off the hook from the allegations concerning the use of confidential funds. Through her questions, she is trying to establish that the vice president did not physically handle the money and was supposedly not involved in preparing the documents,” Castro said at a briefing.
However, Castro pointed out that Acosta herself had testified about how the entire P125 million in confidential funds was ordered released through Duterte’s security officer, Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica, after the money reached the OVP.
“But let us remember that the witness herself admitted that the order to release the entire P125 million in confidential funds came from the vice president, through her security officer, Colonel Lachica, when the funds reached the OVP,” she added.
According to Castro, Duterte exercised command and control over the confidential funds, arguing that physical possession of the money was not necessary for her to direct how it would be spent.
“And that is exactly what the former SDO of the OVP, Gina Acosta, admitted. She did not hesitate to acknowledge that the person who gave these orders was none other than the vice president,” she added.
During her testimony, Acosta described what appeared to be a continuing practice involving confidential funds dating back to Duterte’s time as Davao City mayor and continuing during her tenure at the OVP. She said the funds were routinely turned over to Lachica despite his not being a bonded officer.
Senator-judge Joel Villanueva suggested summoning Lachica to testify, noting that Acosta had no direct knowledge of how the funds were eventually spent. The impeachment court has yet to decide whether the practices described amount to misuse of public funds or violations of existing rules.
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