Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

David Dizon

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/178770741069720260825-senate-impeachment-day18-MT13.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 — It is now the defense’s turn to cross-examine Office of the Vice President (OVP) assistant chief-of-staff Lemuel Ortonio on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foqMBjPyZe8">Wednesday, Day 19</a> of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.</p><p>Ortonio on Tuesday testified that Duterte requested P250 million in confidential funds from the Department of Budget and Management on August 20, 2022, nearly two months after she took office as Vice President. The OVP, however, only submitted a physical and financial plan for the use of the funds 28 days after making the request.</p><div><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/mVgGlV0uJKg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>The request for confidential funds was made even before the appointment of Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica to the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).</p><p>Ortonio also testified that P125 million in confidential funds was used for “obligations already incurred” during the last quarter of 2022.</p><p>“On 20 December 2022, a Cash Advance for CF was drawn to facilitate payment for the obligations already incurred. Hence the P125 million CF was fully utilized for expenses planned, implemented and paid during the 3-month period (October to December 2022) and not within mere 11 days as what the audit observations may have suggested,” read a letter submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit on Nov. 30, 2024.</p><p>This prompted presiding officer Sen. Chiz Escudero to ask if this meant that the OVP already had incurred expenses that needed to be paid even before the funds were released.  </p><p>“Anong ibig sabihin ng pahayag na yan? Ibig sabihin may utang na, babayaran na lang… Sa simpleng salita, bayarin. May pinangakong babayaran, hindi pa lang nabayaran,” he said.</p><p>Ortonio explained that there was no “debt” per se but “arrangements had been done on activities and the payment will be done once the money would be available already.”</p><div><br/></div><div><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/vEnTsIhnco8?&amp;t=26s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Escudero also questioned why the OVP’s confidential funds needed to be spent in the last 11 days of 2022 when the General Appropriations Act allows the use of confidential funds for up to 2 years. Ortonio, however, said the confidential funds were only for the year 2022.</p><p>During direct examination, prosecution lawyer Mae Divinagracia questioned why the OVP used different justifications for the same confidential fund across different documents: good governance program, socio-economic delivery program, surveillance to prevent untoward incidents, and surveillance to identify areas for project rollout.</p><p>Ortonio agreed that there were 4 explanations for the use of the same fund, prompting Divinagracia to label it a “scam.”</p><p>“Kapag paiba-iba ang rason, maaaring nagsisinungaling lang or talaga namang ito ay isa lamang scam,” she said, prompting the defense to object and move to strike out the words “scam” and “nagsisinungaling.”</p><p>Escudero sustained the objection and reminded the prosecution lawyer to use more neutral phrasing after she described the Vice President as the architect and mastermind of the confidential fund controversy.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SUB JUDICE RULING</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, counsel for the House prosecution Amando Ligutan is set to explain his Facebook post regarding misleading questions, which he posted minutes after defense counsel Katherine Ferrer said misleading questions are allowed during her cross-examination of state auditor Xylene del Campo.</p><p>Ligutan has <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/12/ligutan-maintains-no-malice-with-social-media-post-on-misleading-questions-1752">defended his post</a>, saying he did not mention any person or case and said he will not delete it.</p><p>“Kung ang depensa po ay magrereklamo, with all due respect, kung babasahin doon, did I mention a name, a case? Zero. Nothing. Nada. If they felt alluded to, sa kanila na po iyon,” he told reporters.</p><p>“Hindi ko yan buburahin dahil yun ang nakasaad sa ating rules of court. Buti sana kung I named somebody na this is regarding this. Pupuwede akong magpost anytime, 24 hours a day. That is part of my right as a human being to post something na sa tingin ko ano yung nasusulat sa rules of court. Walang bad faith, walang malice,” he said.</p><p>Escudero is set to make a ruling on enforcing the sub judice rule following heated exchanges between the defense and prosecution panels during the trial.</p><p>Escudero’s ruling will cover not just the prosecution and defense but all parties covered by Rule 18 of the Senate Rules of Impeachment, which prohibits even the respondent Duterte and the senator-judges from making comments on the merits of the impeachment case.</p><p>This, after the Vice President claimed that prosecutors were “bending the law” in the impeachment trial. </p><p>House prosecutors earlier urged Escudero to enforce the rule barring parties and counsels from publicly discussing the merits of an ongoing case after senator-judge Pia Cayetano posted a spliced video of her exchange with House prosecutor Chel Diokno and after Duterte herself made a comment about the proceedings.</p><p>The defense, meanwhile, has asked counsel for the prosecutors Lorna Kapunan to show respect to a fellow lawyer while also calling out a Facebook post of Ligutan about misleading questions.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>OTHER VIDEOS</strong></div><div><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/n8V-dvhHpow?&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/j_JuWh4y1gg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>It is now the defense’s turn to cross-examine Office of the Vice President (OVP) assistant chief-of-staff Lemuel Ortonio on Day 19 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.</p>

It is now the defense’s turn to cross-examine Office of the Vice President (OVP) assistant chief-of-staff Lemuel Ortonio on Day 19 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

​Defense to cross-examine OVP witness on impeach trial Day 19

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​Defense to cross-examine OVP witness on impeach trial Day 19

David Dizon,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 26, 2026 09:27 AM PHT

|

Updated August 26, 2026 10:20 AM PHT

Read More:

sub judice

sara duterte

confidential funds

impeachment

Lemuel Ortonio

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Defense to cross-examine OVP witness on impeach trial Day 19

Defense to cross-examine OVP witness on impeach trial Day 19