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MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte knew and had authorized all activities related to the use of confidential funds under her office’s disposal, a top official of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) testified during Duterte’s impeachment trial on Tuesday.
“Based on my understanding, sir, and based on what I know, sir, yes, the vice president knows about the confidential activities and how it is being implemented,” Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio, who is also the OVP assistant chief of staff, told the Senate impeachment court on the 18th day of the trial.
Declared by the court as the second hostile witness, Ortonio was responding to questions from Sen. Francis Escudero, the presiding officer.
Escudero particularly wanted to find out if Duterte knew, supervised, allowed, and authorized everything related to the funds—from requesting the money from the Department of Budget and Management, to how it was cashed, released, spent, liquidated, and how the OVP responded to the Commission on Audit issuances.
