Manila: The House prosecution panel on Tuesday questioned the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) explanation for its confidential fund spending, saying testimony on cash allegedly given to informants for medicine, food, tables, and chairs raised questions of credibility and proper liquidation.

According to Philippines News Agency, at a post-trial press conference on Day 18 of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, private prosecutor Benjamin 'Jay' Tolosa Jr., Deputy Speaker Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V, and lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville 'Jinky Bitrics' Luistro said the explanation could be weighed by the senator-judges. Ortega said the testimony of OVP Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio pointed to gaps in the liquidation and management of confidential funds.

Ortega highlighted that there was a noticeable gap in the liquidation process, noting that the OVP seemed to handle the confidential funds as if they were personal or petty cash. He expressed concern about the lack of a structured methodology for liquidating and utilizing the funds. 'It's like they would just do anything, as if they had their own way of liquidating the funds and their own method of using the money,' Ortega explained.

Tolosa further questioned the rationale behind informants having to specify their intended purchases with the cash they received. He raised doubts about the normalcy and consistency of such a requirement with ordinary human experience, implying that the senator-judges would take these inconsistencies into account during their considerations.