A senior official of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) acknowledged that P125 million in confidential funds were used to settle “obligations already incurred,” an arrangement that prosecutors pointed out violates government regulations requiring cash advances to precede expenditures.
During direct examination, OVP Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio confirmed that while the agency originally requested P250 million for confidential funds in 2022, only P125 million was actually released.
Prosecution counsel Atty. Mae Divinagracia highlighted an inconsistency in the official records, noting that the OVP’s 2022 accomplishment report claimed full implementation of the program despite receiving only half of its requested allocation, a detail Ortonio confirmed.
Divinagracia then introduced an OVP letter dated November 30, 2024, addressed to the Commission on Audit (COA), which contested earlier claims that the P125 million was spent within a brief 11-day window. In the letter, signed by Ortonio, the OVP stated that a cash advance was drawn on December 20, 2022, “to facilitate payment” for “obligations already incurred.”
Presiding Judge Sen. Francis Escudero pressed Ortonio to clarify the phrase, noting that it implied existing debts or prior financial commitments.
“Sir, based on what was shared to me, hindi siya utang (it was not a loan), but arrangements have been done on mga activities that will be done and then the payment will be done once the money would be available already,” Ortonio testified, explaining that coordination and arrangements had taken place prior to the formal release of the funds.
Escudero simplified the definition, asking if “obligations already incurred” effectively meant a pre-existing obligation or a promised payment, to which Ortonio agreed.
Under questioning, Ortonio admitted that during October, November and early December 2022, no allotment existed to support an OVP confidential fund obligation, nor was there any documentation or certification confirming the availability of funds during that period.
Divinagracia questioned whether government rules allow entering into obligations without a prior appropriation and corresponding allotment.
“That’s correct, ma’am,” Ortonio answered.
Divinagracia then turned to the established legal guidelines governing government financial transactions, referring to the joint circular repeatedly cited in the OVP’s correspondence. She asked if cash advances are legally required to precede expenses rather than be used as reimbursements.
“That’s correct, ma’am,” Ortonio conceded, acknowledging that under the Joint Circular, cash advances cannot legally be used for reimbursements.