Malacañang believes that "in a way," the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence during the impeachment trial to merit the conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

Citing former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta's admissions on the handling and liquidation of Duterte's confidential funds, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Palace believes these were enough to convict the Vice President.

"Ayon sa Palasyo, in a way, in a way, yes. Pagdating sa pagturo kay Bise Presidente, kay Col. Lachica na sila ang nag-control ng pondo para sa confidential funds (According to the Palace, in a way, yes. This is in reference to Col. Lachica pointing to the Vice President, saying that they were the ones who controlled the funds for the confidential funds)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

During Monday trial, Acosta testified that the OVP used the same procedure for handling confidential funds that had been practiced in Davao City during Duterte’s tenure as mayor.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero described the procedure as one where confidential funds were released to a security officer or another individual who was not bonded.

The recipient would sign an acknowledgment receipt, which would later be retrieved after the funds had been liquidated and the required documents submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA), Escudero said. Acosta confirmed this.

Acosta also confirmed that former OVP security chief Col. Raymund Lachica received four ₱125-million tranches and that her cash disbursement record documented.

Prosecutors used Acosta's testimony to argue that the OVP's handling of confidential funds followed a recurring procedure.

Castro said that based on the recent testimonies of Acosta, they have also seen a pattern in the disbursement of confidential funds.

"Mukhang since then, at the time na mayor siya na marami naman natanggap na confidential fund ay hindi nagli-liquidate nang naaayon sa rules. So, iyon iyong nakita nating pattern, iyon iyong isa sa mga na-reveal dito (It appears that since then, even when she was mayor and had received substantial amounts of confidential funds, she did not liquidate them in accordance with the rules. So, that is the pattern we have seen, and it is one of the things that was revealed during the proceedings)," Castro said.

She then questioned whether such a practice would make a good leader.

"So, paano magkakaroon ng magandang liderato kung ang mga pondong ito, sa ganito pa lang na halaga ay mahihirapan na silang i-account (So, how can there be good leadership if they already have difficulty accounting for funds of this magnitude)?" Castro pointed out.

The Palace spokesperson stressed that confidential funds are part of public funds, thus, they must be properly accounted for.

“Tandaan natin, this is a public fund and this confidential fund is part of public funds (Let us remember that this is public money, and confidential funds are part of public funds)," Castro said.

"So, kapag hindi ito nai-account nang mabuti at hindi naman ito sa ngayon napapasinungalingan ng Bise Presidente na siya talaga ang nakakuha ng pera upang gamitin sa kanyang pagpoprotekta, pansariling pagpoprotekta at siya ang nakapirma sa liquidation report, so kapag hindi naisaayos mabuti at nawawala ng mga dokumento, ang ibig sabihin niyan ay may prima facie evidence na ito ay nagamit nang personal (So, if these funds are not properly accounted for, and the Vice President has not, at this point, denied that she was the one who received the money for her own protection and that she signed the liquidation report, then if the records are not properly maintained and documents are missing, that would mean there is prima facie evidence that the funds were used for personal purposes)," Castro added.