BANK MANAGERS who testified in Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial on Wednesday described hundreds of millions of pesos in cash withdrawals by the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) as “unusual,” although they said the transactions complied with banking procedures.
On the 10th day of the impeachment trial, the House of Representatives prosecution panel presented two former officials of Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), which handled seven encashment transactions totaling P612.5 million.
Retired Landbank Department Manager Violeta Constantino said the OVP’s encashment of P125 million in cash stood out because government agencies typically disburse funds through checks.
“What seemed unusual to me was that it was taken in cash,” Ms. Constantino told the impeachment court. “In other cases, they issue checks for their disbursements, not cash.”
Responding to a question from Senator-Judge Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, she affirmed that the P125-million cash withdrawals were unusual.
Ms. Constantino supervised four transactions in which checks worth P125 million each were encashed. She served as Landbank’s contact person for the OVP’s cash division in verifying the transactions.
She said the withdrawals, payable to OVP Disbursing Officer Gina F. Acosta, took place in December 2022, and January, April, and July 2023. She also testified that OVP personnel carried the cash out of the bank using three to four gym bags.
Another witness, former Landbank Branch Manager Nenita Camposano, said DepEd’s three separate encashments of P37.5 million each were likewise unusual because the department rarely made large cash withdrawals.
“For DepEd, this was the first time,” Ms. Camposano said during questioning by Senator-Judge Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson. “The P37.5 million is unusual with the Department of Education because that was the only big withdrawal from DepEd.”
Ms. Duterte served as Education secretary in 2022, when the agency first requested confidential and intelligence funds worth millions of pesos.
Ms. Camposano clarified that an unusual transaction does not automatically qualify as a suspicious transaction reportable to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
The defense declined to cross-examine either witness.
Defense spokesman Michael T. Poa said the witnesses’ characterization of the transactions as unusual does not affect the defense’s case.
“For me, the ‘unusual’ [line] — that is the opinion of the bank manager,” Mr. Poa told reporters. “I don’t see how it will affect the case. It is not an issue because the validity of the encashment is not being questioned.”
The impeachment court adjourned until Aug. 3, when the House prosecution will continue presenting evidence on the first article of impeachment alleging misuse of public funds.
Two witnesses from the Commission on Audit — Roderick Wamil and Xylene Del Campo — are scheduled to testify, followed by House Legislative Information Resources Management Department Director Marivic Pareja. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel