If the prosecution panel would have its way, at least two more witnesses under the confidential funds misuse article are to be declared as "hostile witnesses" in Vice President Sara Duterte's ongoing Senate impeachment trial.

Solon-prosecutor Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon identified these two witnesses as Department of Education (DepEd) special disbursing officer (SDO) Edward Fajarda and Office of the Vice President (OVP) Assistant Chief-of-Staff Lemuel Ortonio.

“I think all of the OVP and the DepEd personnel that reported to the Vice President, I think we will seek to qualify them as a hostile witness,” Ridon said over the weekend, in reference to two agencies Duterte simultaneously led from 2022 to 2024.

Gina Acosta, a former SDO under OVP, was the first hostile witness in the impeachment trial under article I, which alleged the systematic misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds.

Referring to Fajarda, Ridon said: “Similar naman po ang status nila ni Ms. Acosta dahil siyempre talaga naman pong ’yung mga interest po nila ay, I think, very similar, particular dito po sa misuse ng confidential funds."

(Their status is similar to that of Ms. Acosta because, of course, their interests are, I think, very similar, particularly regarding the misuse of confidential funds.)

Fajarda withdrew three P37.5-million cash advances totaling P112.5 million in DepEd confidential funds in 2023, when Duterte concurrently served as education secretary.

Ridon said prosecutors expect Fajarda to reaffirm his previous House testimony that Duterte instructed him to turn over the confidential funds to Col. Dennis Nolasco--then a DepEd security officer, and was not the department’s designated SDO.

“Ang atin pong inaasahan ay Mr. Fajarda will reconfirm what he had stated during House committee deliberations na ang Pangalawang Pangulo po ay nagbigay ng instructions para po ibigay ’yung confidential funds ng DepEd sa isang non-DepEd organic personnel,” Ridon said.

(Our expectation is that Mr. Fajarda will reconfirm what he stated during House committee deliberations, that the Vice President gave instructions for the DepEd confidential funds to be handed over to a non-DepEd organic personnel.)

Ridon described Acosta’s testimony so far as a “smoking gun” and said it established what prosecutors consider the starting point of the alleged misuse.

Ortonio is another Duterte subordinate whom prosecutors intend to seek to have qualified as hostile when he takes the stand.

Ridon said hostile-witness treatment would give prosecutors greater latitude in questioning Duterte’s subordinates and help expedite the proceedings. For one thing, it allows the asking of leading questions.

“Dapat ma-qualify po sila as a hostile witness para siyempre ma-expedite din ’yung proceedings doon po sa estilo ng pagtatanong,” he said.

(They should be qualified as hostile witnesses so that the proceedings can also be expedited through that style of questioning.)

Of the P612.5 million confidential funds, P500 million went to the OVP, including P125 million in December 2022 and P375 million in the first three quarters of 2023, while P112.5 million was released to DepEd in three P37.5-million tranches in 2023.