Prosecution unlikely to call military officers Lachica, Nolasco as witnesses vs. VP Duterte

The House prosecution team said it is unlikely they will present Colonel Raymund Lachica and Colonel Dennis Nolasco as witnesses in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, citing concerns over their credibility.

Prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said the prosecution could not easily validate the accounts of Lachica and Nolasco, despite both having received portions of the more than ₱612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.

Kapunan said neither military official testified in the 2024 inquiry of the House Good Government and Public Accountability Committee on the use of confidential funds by the OVP and DepEd.

She said the case is different for former OVP special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, who testified on Monday that she released ₱500 million in OVP confidential funds to Lachica upon Duterte’s instructions, despite the alleged release being contrary to the 2015 guidelines governing confidential and intelligence funds.

Acosta had also made the same claims during the 2024 House inquiry, giving the prosecution a previous account against which her testimony could be checked.

Lachica previously served as group commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Security and Protection Group (ASPG), formerly known as the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).

“We will take guidance from the House panel. There probably is wisdom in them not calling the military officials in. Besides, they may not want to incriminate themselves. Baka magsabi sila ng testimony roon na imbento lang,” Kapunan said in an online press conference on Wednesday.

“Baka kung anong sabihin nila roon. Even if they are subpoenaed as hostile witness, there may be a concern about their credibility because we cannot cross check their accounts on transcripts of the House panel inquiry,” she added.

During the 2024 House proceedings, former DepEd SDO Edward Fajarda also testified that he regularly released between ₱4 million and ₱6 million from DepEd’s confidential fund allocation to Nolasco on Duterte’s orders.

Meanwhile, House prosecution team impeachment adviser and former Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers said prosecutors are evaluating if calling on a particular witness would strengthen their case against Duterte.

“The prosecutors will assess the necessity of such and then when there is good reason to, I'm sure we will invite and ask for a subpoena for them,” Barbers added.