Two former LandBank branch managers found “unusual” the million-peso cash withdrawals by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) between 2022 and 2023 because of the large amounts involved.
They said it was the first time they had ever seen these transactions in their banking careers. One of them, Violeta Constantino, former department manager at LandBank’s Shaw, Mandaluong branch, took it even further by saying it was unusual because the withdrawals were made entirely in cash.
Constantino and Nenita Camposano, former LandBank manager at the DepEd branch, were the first two witnesses of the House prosecutors in the resumption of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, July 29.
The prosecution panel presented the two as they tackled Article I of the articles of impeachment that alleged the Vice President had misused ₱612.5 million in confidential funds in the OVP and DepEd. Duterte once served as education secretary until she resigned after falling out with her erstwhile ally, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Last week, they ended their presentation of evidence on allegations that Duterte had hired someone to kill Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez, which covered Article II of the articles of impeachment.
“The personal opinion of the bank is where the cash [withdrawals] will be used. But we never asked them,” Constantino told the prosecution panel led this time by Manila Rep. Joel Chua during her testimony.
Witnessed personally
Chua said the former bank manager, who retired in 2024 after 32 years in the bank business, “personally witnessed and oversaw the encashment [of the OVP checks] worth in total ₱500 million and their acceptance of the cash by Gina Acosta, OVP special disbursement officer.”
The Treasury Department downloaded the money to the OVP.
Through digital checks, Constantino affirmed that Acosta, the payee named in the checks, withdrew ₱125 million each on four occasions—Dec. 20, 2022, Feb. 6, 2023, April 25, 2023, and July 13, 2023.
Constantino said Queenie Masangkay, a liaison at the OVP cash division, would call her “a day or two” to inform her about the “cash needs” of their office. She said they don’t have enough funds in the vault, so they have to communicate the cash request to the bank’s cash center.
“When the cash arrives, I call Queenie that it’s available in the branch. Gina Acosta and [Lemuel] Ortonio would then go to the bank,” she said.
Constantino said she first met Ortonio, the assistant secretary and assistant chief of staff at the OVP, who in turn introduced her to Acosta.
Bank withdrawal process
Recounting the first cash withdrawal, the former bank manager said Acosta gave her identification card to the bank verifier, who would check whether there was an OVP advice on it. The bank teller would then encode and request the cash, which still needs approval, she said.
It is only then that they inform Acosta that the bank teller would release the cash, Constantino said.
Since this involved a large amount of money, she said they would guide Acosta to the bank’s back room for the bank teller to release the cash, in this case ₱1 million in 125 boxes.
The former bank manager said “[Acosta and companions] would put the boxes in three to four bags,” which she later described as “gym bags.”
None of the bank staff would assist OVP representatives in the cash transfer, in keeping with the bank’s policy and for safety and security reasons, she said.
Defense counsel Michael Poa informed the court that they will not cross-examine Constantino. Camposano also did not undergo cross-examination.
Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asked Constantino whether it was normal for a government agency to make large bank cash withdrawals and whether she had seen this kind of transaction.
“No. This is unusual,” she replied, but also added that the OVP had prior advice on the withdrawals so “this underwent their process.”
Constantino also said she did not know whether the withdrawals were for intelligence funds.
Asked by Tulfo whether the bank had large withdrawals from other government agencies, she said they were not large and were done via ATM or the online system.
Amla prohibition
When Sen. Bam Aquino asked whether the bank reported the “unusual” OVP cash withdrawal, Constantino said she could not say it was reported as she invoked the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla), which prohibits her from disclosing such information.
Aquino said the cash withdrawals were apparently covered transactions as the amounts were higher than ₱500,000 for which banks are required to report them to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“But you don’t want to say that this is a suspicious transaction because this is covered by Amla,” Aquino told Constantino, who in turn said: “Because for us, this is not suspicious.”
She also told Aquino that the bank did not doubt the OVP because they knew it was a “legal transaction.”
Questioned by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Constantino said it was the first time in her banking career that she had a ₱125-million withdrawal.
What was unusual was that these were cash withdrawals, since other agencies would issue checks for disbursement, according to the witness.
“So it’s not just the large amount of ₱125 million that is unusual, but it’s also unusual that the transaction was through cash and not through checks?” Hontiveros asked Constantino, who replied in the affirmative.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano also clarified Constantino’s “unusual” remark, pointing out that as foreign secretary before, he had large transactions with the LandBank.
“So my point is, just because it’s unusual, it doesn’t mean it’s illegal or whatever. It’s that right,” he said. Constantino replied: “There is nothing illegal in [the OVP] encashment.”
‘Competent witness’
In a manifestation, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, asked “why neither the prosecution nor the defense is presenting a competent witness in the handling of intelligence and confidential funds” in the impeachment trial.
This was because, being part of law enforcement before, Lacson said confidential and intelligence funds have a “limited purpose.” The senator once served as Philippine National Police chief.
Lacson said this was why he was wondering why the OVP bank withdrawals were done every quarter, except Dec. 20, 2022.
He said he was hoping that there would be a competent witness to help senator-judges understand how confidential or intelligence funds are handled and whether disbursement of such funds every quarter is considered regular.
Chua told Lacson that prosecutors would present an official from the Commission on Audit to testify on how these funds are handled. But Lacson said such a witness may not be competent enough to do so.
“Somebody like a retired intelligence officer who knows how to handle such funds,” he suggested.
Similar testimony
Former bank manager Camposano also remarked that she found DepEd’s encashment of three checks of ₱37.5 million each, or a total of ₱112.5 million, “unusual” because of the large amounts involved.
She testified that the bank processed the encashment of the three checks made to Edward Fajarda on Feb. 22, 2023, April 26, 2023, and July 13, 2023.
Camposano made a similar account on how the bank branch processed the encashment of the checks.
She said Fajarda was guided to the back room of the branch to release the cash, which he and his companions placed in two large bags. From there, Fajarda would leave the bank through a fire exit.
Defense lawyer Poa later told Camposano it was because the bank was connected to the DepEd compound.
“[The withdrawal] is unusual for DepEd because it’s a big withdrawal,” Camposano told Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
To Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, the witness said the typical bank transactions with DepEd involved encashments of employees’ payroll, including overtime pay. But she said this involved amounts ranging from ₱100,000 to ₱200,000.
Camposano said not all unusual transactions are considered suspicious or reported to the AMLC by the banks. To this, Lacson said Amla only deals with covered and suspicious transactions, never unusual transactions. CS
