ANOTHER OVP OFFICIAL RUSHED TO HOSPITAL

A SECOND official of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Monday night was brought to the hospital after suffering from high blood pressure during the hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on the disbursement of the confidential funds of the OVP from 2022 to 2023.

OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta experienced nausea and dizziness while attending the hearing as a resource person.

She was accompanied by the Vice President to an  ambulance, which transported her to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), where OVP chief of staff attorney Zuleika Lopez is being confined for acute stress disorder.

Before she was taken to the hospital, Acosta faced lawmakers for the first time in the morning, after not attending the previous hearings of the House panel. 

Batangas 2nd district. Rep. Gerville Luistro began interpellating Acosta past 4 p.m. Monday.

Acosta was initially being asked about her roles prior to becoming OVP special disbursing officer.

Later in the hearing, Acosta was asked about her role in disbursing the confidential funds of the OVP. She admitted that she entrusted P125 million to Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) Commander Col. Raymund Lachica, the security officer of OVP.

Acosta was also asked if she knew Mary Grace Piattos, Kokoy Villamin and other personalities that were in the acknowledgement receipts shown in previous hearings. She answered no and admitted she was feeling shaky. 

In the same hearing, Vice President Sara Duterte asked the House panel to temporarily suspend the session to give Acosta some “air.” 

Past 6 p.m. Monday, Acosta was seen being attended to by medical personnel. She was later brought out through a wheelchair and loaded to an ambulance.

Last Saturday morning, Lopez was rushed to the VMMC after suffering from panic attack.

Prior to the hospitalization, Lopez has been ordered transferred to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, which she refused.

The OVP chief of staff was initially brought to the VMMC  before being transferred to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City due to health issues while under House detention for contempt. She was later returned to the VMMC.