Aide bares OVP fund gap, says P150,000 from his own pocket

MANILA, Philippines — Office of the Vice President Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio testified Tuesday, Aug. 25, that he was never reimbursed for P150,000 he advanced from his personal funds.

Ortonio told the Senate impeachment court that the money covered an "urgent request" from Col. Raymund Lachica that was relayed to him by then-special disbursing officer Gina Acosta.

"She (Acosta) mentioned that there was a request from Colonel Lachica for urgent [expenses]," Ortonio said.

The advance became part of the OVP's explanation for a P150,000 discrepancy flagged by the Commission on Audit in its confidential fund records.

COA found that while the OVP reported P125 million in expenses, the receipts submitted to support them totaled P125.15 million.

An initial OVP response dated March 13, 2024 attributed the discrepancy to misplaced receipts.

Nine days later, however, the OVP told COA that Ortonio had personally advanced the additional P150,000, with P100,000 spent on supplies and P50,000 on underpaid rewards.

Acosta earlier pointed to Lachica

Ortonio testified a day after Acosta repeatedly told the Senate impeachment court that she turned over the OVP's confidential funds to Lachica, then head of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, because he had been designated to implement confidential activities.

The impeachment court remained on Article I on Tuesday, which involves allegations over the use of confidential funds by the OVP and the Department of Education. — with reports from Cristina Chi