The Impeachment Trial of VP Sara Duterte, Day 22: Prosecution Drops Key Witnesses in VP Impeachment; Senate Court Open to Subpoenaing Security Chief
MANILA — The House prosecution panel in the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte formally dropped former Department of Education (DepEd) special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda from its witness list on 7 September 2026, citing a medical bulletin that recommended 30 days of rest following his recent stroke.
In tandem with this decision, prosecutors confirmed that they will no longer present Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group Commander Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, alongside Col. Dennis Nolasco and former aide Ramil Madriaga. The prosecution maintained that existing documentary evidence and prior witness testimonies are sufficient to establish their case regarding the alleged misuse and liquidation of confidential funds.
Following the prosecution's decision to forgo calling the military officers, Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo filed a formal manifestation asking if the impeachment court itself could summon Col. Lachica to the witness stand. Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero affirmed that the tribunal holds the inherent authority to call witnesses directly, clarifying that the court will do so at the appropriate juncture in the trial.
Col. Lachica is regarded as a vital figure in the proceedings following earlier testimonies indicating that former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta turned over all four PHP 125-million tranches of confidential funds—amounting to PHP 500 million—directly to him on the instructions of Vice President Duterte. During his manifestation, Senator Tulfo stressed that while the potential use of aliases to protect confidential informants might be understandable, the presence of identical signatures and matching handwriting across different acknowledgment receipts remains highly suspicious. Tulfo argued that calling Lachica and Nolasco is critical to uncovering how the receipts were generated and clarifying who actually received and disbursed the funds.
During the trial session, the prosecution pivoted to present Philippine Statistics Authority Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande as its 11th witness for Article I. Grande testified that out of 2,669 payees listed on acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President and DepEd, the agency found no civil registry records for 1,685 individuals—including names matching one-year-old infants and entries resembling food products and animals.
