Senator Raffy Tulfo severely criticized former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer Gina Acosta during the 17th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial, attributing her persistent defense of questionable confidential fund records to “blind loyalty”.
When Tulfo asked Acosta to evaluate her own judgment as “smart, average or stupid,” she responded that she considers herself an average individual.
The senator then cited acknowledgment receipts bearing highly suspicious entries, asserting that anyone exercising ordinary discernment would have rejected such documentation.
“If you are normal, average person, papalag ka… ‘Bastusan na ito, lokohan na ito,’” Tulfo said.
Acosta defended her actions by stating that former OVP security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica possessed the expertise required to handle confidential funds and was personally assigned by Vice President Duterte to implement operations.
Tulfo countered that relying on Lachica despite glaring evidentiary flaws reflected submission rather than sound judgment.
“So for me, in this case, you are stupid in the name of blind loyalty,” the senator bluntly told Acosta.
The exchange occurred as the Senate impeachment court reviewed acknowledgment receipts listed as evidence of alleged misallocations in Duterte’s confidential funds.
The prosecution highlighted entries featuring improbable names—including “Antonio Pagong,” “Timon Andrew Pusa,” “Don Piang,” “May Pamana,” “Shane Ngitngit,” and “Xuniso P. Belat”—as questionable records within the OVP’s confidential fund accounting.