Defense explains objection to AI use: We’re just concerned about accuracy

WITNESS. Former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta listens to prosecution counsel Amado Virgil Ligutan (on screen) during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on August. 17, 2026. Aaron Favila/Pool via Reuters Defense spokesperson Michael Poa also says they saw the prosecution's point in taking the route The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte objected to the prosecution's use of AI to depict the OVP's P125-million confidential funds, questioning the accuracy of the representation. Prosecution counsel presented the AI simulation during the impeachment hearings, explaining it was necessary due to the unavailability of actual cash. Concerns were raised about the witness Gina Acosta's difficulty in speaking Tagalog during the trial, since she had spoken in the language when she previously faced the House probe on alleged OVP confidential funds misuse. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte explained on Monday, August 17, why they objected to the House prosecution team’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to depict the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) P125-million confidential funds. “Of course, we had to object to that because we had to ask at least for the proper basis why they used AI,” defense spokesperson and counsel Michael Poa told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English. “Kasi hindi natin made-determine ‘yong accuracy kung ganoon ba talaga ang hitsura ng P125 million. And to be honest, ako personally, I have not seen P125 million in person. So, ‘yon lang talaga ‘yong concern natin, ‘yong pagdating sa accurate depiction,” he added. (Because we cannot determine the accuracy of what P125 million really looks like. And to be honest, personally, I have not seen P125 million in person. So that was really our concern, the matter of accurate depiction.) Prosecution counsel Amando Virgil Ligutan presented the AI simulation of the said confidential funds during his direct examination of OVP staff and former special disbursing officer Gina Acosta on Monday. The Senate impeachment court is in middle of the hearings on the article of impeachment against Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds. Ligutan used the AI simulation to ask Acosta if that was how P125 million looked like. Immediately asked by defense counsel Lindon Miguel Bacquel if the image was AI-generated, Ligutan responded in the affirmative. Ligutan explained that they had to resort to technology because they “don’t have P125 million in cold cash.” For the defense, Poa said they understood the prosecution’s point in presenting the image. “The witness was able to answer [the prosecution’s question]. So earlier, all we wanted was just to register our objection,” the defense spokesperson said. “But nakikita naman natin ‘yong punto ng prosecution kaya nila ginawa ‘yon. They wanted to…give everyone, maybe not just people in court, but even the public kung ano ‘yong puntong gusto nilang marating,” he added. (But we saw the prosecution’s point on why they did that. They wanted to give everyone, maybe not just people in court, but even the public what they wanted to point out.) Acosta’s language In the middle of the trial, Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo raised a concern over Acosta’s difficulty in speaking in Filipino and compared it with how she addressed the House panel that looked into the OVP confidential funds issue. At the Monday trial, Acosta was initially allowed to speak in Cebuano (Bisaya). “Hindi ko po maintindihan bakit parang dito hirap na hirap siya mag-Tagalog. When in fact, sa Congress po noong November, eh Tagalog naman po ang sagot niya (I cannot understand why she’s having a hard time speaking in Tagalog. When in fact, in Congress last November, she was able to answer in Tagalog),” said Tulfo. Escudero later asked Acosta if she could speak in Filipino and English instead. Poa said the defense understood Tulfo’s concern, especially in relation to how it lenghtened the process due to translations, but reiterated that Acosta was more comfortable in speaking Bisaya. Poa said that during the House hearings, Acosta actually wanted to speak in Cebuano too. “I am not sure, but I remember kasi I was also in the committee hearing in the House. I think at that time, during that time, she also wanted to speak in Bisaya, but was requested to speak in Filipino or English. So the witness was consistent, as far as I remember,” said the defense spokesperson. “But we’ll try to address that in cross if ever that becomes an issue,” he added. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading