Witness: OVP gym bags carried ₱125M cash from LandBank

MANILA, Philippines — A witness testified that representatives of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) used three to four gym bags to carry ₱125 million in cash withdrawn from a branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).

LandBank Shaw Boulevard branch’s former department manager Violeta Constantino said Wednesday, the 10th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, that she personally oversaw the encashment of four checks worth ₱125 million each, totaling ₱500 million.

Constantino is the prosecution’s first witness for impeachment Article I, which accuses Duterte of the misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds from the OVP and the Department of Education.

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Constantino said the cash for each ₱125-million withdrawal was released from the branch’s back room in ₱1-million packs, which were then placed inside bags brought by the OVP representatives.

Asked to describe the bags during the prosecution team’s direct examination, Constantino replied in Filipino, “As far as I remember, it was a large, long bag, similar to a gym bag.”

“As far as I remember, there were about three to four bags,” she added, answering prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua’s question about how many bags were used, if she remembered.

The four checks, each encashed on December 20, 2022, January 31, 2023, April 18, 2023, and July 13, 2023, were all payable to Gina Acosta, the OVP’s special disbursing officer.

Constantino recalled that Acosta had companions during the transactions, but Constantino could no longer remember how many were with Acosta.

Constantino also said LandBank employees did not assist in carrying the bags out of the building, as doing so was against bank policy.

“For safety and security measures, so that the bank would be hands off once the physical cash has been released,” she explained.

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Process of encashment

According to Constantino, a certain Queenie Masangkay, a liaison from the OVP cash department, would call her one or two days before the planned encashment to inform the bank of the withdrawal.

The advance notice was necessary because the branch had limited cash in its vault and needed to ensure that the amount requested by the OVP would be available, she explained.

Constantino also said OVP signatory Lemuel Ortonio introduced Acosta to her when they first met.

Acosta then presented the check to be encashed, along with her identification card, which was forwarded to a verifier. Once the documents were cleared, Acosta was guided to a back room because of the large amount involved.

Constantino said those present during the first release included herself, a bank teller, the branch cashier, Acosta, and Ortonio.

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