By Hannah Torregoza
The Senate Impeachment Court on Monday, August 17, declared Gina Acosta, Vice President Sara Duterte’s special disbursing officer at the Office of the Vice President (OVP), as the first hostile witness in the ongoing trial over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Presiding Officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero granted the House prosecution panel’s motion after Acosta admitted she currently holds a co‑terminous post as Vice Presidential Staff Officer VI and would lose her job if Duterte were removed from office.
Escudero noted that her employment circumstances, coupled with her counter‑affidavit filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, showed her position was directly adverse to the prosecution’s case.
“In addition to the ground raised by Atty. Amando Ligutan that the witness has taken a position by virtue of her counter‑affidavit filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, the court hereby declares the witness to be a hostile witness under and in accordance with Rule 132, Section 13,” Escudero ruled.
Ligutan argued that Acosta’s counter‑affidavit defended Duterte’s handling of confidential funds, asserting compliance with rules and denying liability for alleged misuse.
This stance, he said, ran counter to the prosecution’s effort to prove Duterte instructed Acosta to encash ₱500 million in confidential funds and turn them over to OVP security officer Col. Raymund Lachica.
The defense opposed the motion, insisting Acosta’s adverse interest should first be established through examination.
But Escudero rejected the argument, allowing prosecutors to ask leading questions, though not misleading ones.
Acosta’s declaration as hostile underscores her dual role: as a key disbursing officer who handled the funds in 2022 and 2023, and as a witness whose testimony is seen by prosecutors as aligned with Duterte’s defense.
