The House prosecution on Wednesday described the testimonies of two former Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) branch managers as just an “appetizer” in its effort to prove that Vice President Sara Duterte committed betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution through the alleged misuse of PHP612.5 million in confidential funds.

At a press briefing, House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said it was significant that the prosecution’s first two witnesses, both veteran bank managers, independently characterized the confidential fund transactions as unusual.

“Unusual ay appetizer pa lang (Unusual is only an appetizer). And unusual is the perfect start for the prosecution pagdating sa (when it comes to) confidential funds,” Defensor said.

“We will let the evidence lead the court to a finding of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution in the coming trial days,” he added.

During the hearing, retired LandBank Shaw Boulevard branch manager Violeta Constantino testified on the encashment of four Office of the Vice President (OVP) checks totaling PHP500 million.

According to the prosecution, the checks were dated Dec. 20, 2022, Jan. 31, April 18 and July 13, 2023. They were funded by the National Treasury, credited to the OVP’s account, and encashed by Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta on Dec. 20, 2022, Feb. 6, April 25 and July 14, 2023.

Former LandBank-DepEd branch manager Nenita Camposano, meanwhile, testified on the encashment of three Department of Education (DepEd) checks totaling PHP112.5 million. Duterte previously served as DepEd Secretary.

The prosecution said the three checks, each worth PHP37.5 million, were dated Feb. 20, April 19 and July 11, 2023. They were funded by the National Treasury, credited to the DepEd Office of the Secretary’s account, and encashed by Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda on Feb. 22, April 26 and July 13, 2023.

Both witnesses told the impeachment court that the transactions were unusual because of the large amounts involved and because clients normally did not encash checks of that magnitude in cash.

Defensor said the testimonies established from the outset that the handling of the PHP612.5 million in confidential funds stood out even to seasoned banking professionals.

House trial spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur said the unusual nature of the transactions went beyond the amounts involved.

“Hindi lang ’yung amount ang pinag-uusapan natin dito, pero ’yung paraan kung paano ito ginamit at paano ito in-encash (It’s not only the amount involved that is at issue here, but how it was encashed and utilized),” Alonto Adiong said.

He noted that, unlike ordinary government disbursements, the confidential funds were converted into cash through the encashment of Treasury checks after prior coordination with the bank.

“Talagang ang purpose lang nila i-encash ‘yung pondo, ‘yung PHP612.5 million (Their purpose is really just to encash the PHP612.5-million fund),” he said.

Adiong also pointed to what he described as a discernible pattern in the transactions.

“Mukhang may calendar eh. Mukhang naka-calendar (Its seemed that there is a calendar, it was calendared),” he said.

Both Constantino and Camposano testified that OVP and DepEd officials coordinated with their respective LandBank branches before presenting the checks for encashment to ensure sufficient cash was available.

The witnesses also testified that the checks were consistently encashed in fixed amounts — PHP125 million for each of the four OVP transactions and PHP37.5 million for each of the three DepEd transactions.

Referring to questions raised during the hearing by Senator-Judge Panfilo Lacson, Adiong said legitimate intelligence operations are ordinarily dictated by operational requirements and are not carried out according to a fixed schedule.

He said the advance coordination with the bank, coupled with the regular timing and fixed amounts of the encashments, suggested a discernible pattern rather than transactions driven by operational necessity.

“Parang may cadence (There seemed to be a cadence), every quarterly,” Alonto Adiong noted. (PNA)