Senator-judge Lito Lapid, one of the quieter members of the upper chamber, on Monday, Aug. 24, finally took a more active role in questioning former special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta over the handling of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds.

Lapid, who has previously joked about belonging to a “Committee on Silence” because of his relatively low profile in Senate debates, pressed Acosta on what happened to the money from the ₱125-million confidential fund tranches released to former OVP security officer Col. Raymund Lachica.

Following up on questions raised by Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Lapid asked Acosta where the remaining ₱45 million went after she allegedly released ₱80 million to Lachica from the second ₱125-million tranche.

“Sa aming vault pa po iyon, Your Honor (It's in our vault, Your Honor),” Acosta replied.

Lapid then asked about the handling of the cash after Acosta withdrew four bags of money from the bank and whether Vice President Sara Duterte saw or witnessed the opening of the bags.

Acosta said she placed the money in bags after withdrawing it from the bank and brought it to their office, where she kept it in her extension office.

For the first 2022 withdrawal, however, Acosta said the money was not placed in the vault.

Lapid returned to the second ₱125-million tranche and asked where the remaining ₱45 million was kept after ₱80 million was released to Lachica.

Acosta said the ₱45 million was placed in their vault. She explained that after she released the first ₱80 million, Lachica submitted a fund utilization report about a month later, along with documents showing the objects of expenditure. These documents, she said, served as the basis for releasing the remaining funds.

Lapid also raised questions about names appearing in documents related to the confidential fund, including “Mary Grace Piattos” and two individuals carrying the surname Lapid.

The senator joked that he would be grateful if the “Lapid” appearing in the documents turned out to be a relative, recalling his father’s belief that anyone with the same surname was a relative.

He then asked Acosta whether the documents identifying the supposed recipients were genuine.

Acosta said she relied on documents submitted by Lachica, who had been designated by Duterte as the OVP’s security officer and tasked with implementing various confidential operational activities.

“Your Honor, yung mga documents po na iyan ay galing po sa Security Officer, Your Honor, na si Colonel Lachica, Your Honor, na itinalaga po ni Vice President, Your Honor. Kaya po ako nag-rely po ako, Your Honor, sa kanya kasi meron po siyang office order, Your Honor, na siya ang security officer, Your Honor, at siya po ang mag-implement ng mga various confidential operational activities, Your Honor.”

Lapid then questioned why Acosta trusted Lachica with the confidential funds and whether she had checked his background or determined whether he had his own intelligence funds in his office.

“Hindi ko alam, Your Honor (I don't know, Your Honor),” Acosta said.