Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

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Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1787633038450viber_image_2026-08-25_11-56-49-598.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">OVP Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, the second hostile witness, answers questions from private prosecutor Atty. Mae Divinagracia during the direct examination on the 18th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial at the Senate in Pasay City on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Ortonio is being questioned on matters related to his role and responsibilities at the Office of the Vice President (OVP), particularly on the use of confidential funds<em>.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Sara Duterte requested confidential funds in 2022 before it prepared a Physical and Financial Plan (PFP), a witness confirmed Tuesday before the Senate impeachment court.</p><p>Lemuel Ortonio, currently the OVP assistant chief-of-staff, verified that the office had first sent a letter to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) about its request for confidential funds before it submitted a PFP, which the Joint Circular 2015-01 requires for all confidential fund allocations.</p><p>Under the joint circular, which governs confidential fund use, all allocations of confidential or intelligence funds should be supported with a PFP indicating the proposed amount allocated for each program, activity, and project.</p><p>Ortonio, the impeachment trial&#x27;s <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/25/duterte-impeachment-trial-ovp-s-lemuel-ortonio-declared-hostile-witness-1115">second hostile witness</a>, confirmed during the direct examination by private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia that the OVP requested confidential funds on Aug. 22, 2022 and prepared the PFP on Sept. 16, 2022.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1o4jDimhVc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div><p>The PFP was approved in less than 20 days, Ortonio said, noting that it was approved by Duterte herself and that the document did not pass through his office.</p><p>The joint circular defines the PFP as a document approved by the head of agency (which refers to Duterte, in the case of the OVP) &quot;supporting the request for funds&quot; for confidential and intelligence expenses. It contains &quot;the estimated amount per project, activity and program.&quot;</p><p>During Divinagracia&#x27;s examination, Ortonio also confirmed that there were no itemization of programs and activities under the PFP and that it only listed &quot;Good Governance Programs&quot; as an umbrella program of the OVP under the Programs, Activities, and Projects (PAP).</p><p>Divinagracia also pointed out that the 2023 PFP prepared by the OVP was &quot;verbatim reproductions&quot; of the 2022 PFP. </p><p>The only difference, she said, was that the 2023 PFP indicated &quot;socioeconomic program delivery&quot; under the PAP.</p><p>&quot;Yes, that&#x27;s correct,&quot; Ortonio confirmed.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/14/-go-beyond-confidential-funds-analyst-weighs-in-on-plunder-raps-vs-vp-sara-1427">‘Go beyond confidential funds’: Analyst weighs in on plunder raps vs VP Sara</a></div><p>The prosecution lawyer noted that Duterte requested a budget for OVP&#x27;s confidential expenses for 2022 because there were no allocations for the said funds for the OVP in that year&#x27;s General Appropriations Act.</p><p>In the letter, the OVP originally requested for a P250 million confidential fund, but the DBM only approved P125 million, which was sourced from the Office of the President&#x27;s Contingent Fund.</p><p>The P125 million confidential fund was spent in only 11 days, which a state auditor testified was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/4/ovp-spending-p125-m-confidential-funds-in-11-days-not-illegal-witness-1500">not prohibited</a> by law.</p><p>One of the allegations against Duterte in the impeachment trial is that she misused her P612.5 million in confidential funds: P500 million under the OVP and P112.5 million under the Department of Education, which she previously led.</p><p>She and her lawyers have rejected the accusations.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p3BVF963368?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fi_RmCMaEeg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pGxhahSdZco?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Office of the Vice President under Sara Duterte requested confidential funds before preparing a Physical and Financial Plan, a witness confirmed Tuesday before the Senate impeachment court.</p>

The Office of the Vice President under Sara Duterte requested confidential funds before preparing a Physical and Financial Plan, a witness confirmed Tuesday before the Senate impeachment court.

Witness confirms OVP requested confidential funds before Physical and Financial plan was prepared

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Witness confirms OVP requested confidential funds before Physical and Financial plan was prepared

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 25, 2026 12:44 PM PHT

|

Updated August 25, 2026 02:08 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Impeachment Trial

Senate Trial

Sara Duterte Trial

Senate

Impeachment

Lemuel Ortonio

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