Over half of VP Duterte's secret fund recipients lack birth records — PSA

More than half of the 677 supposed recipients of millions of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have no proof of birth, according to a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In an interview on Monday, House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability Chairperson Joel Chua said he was furnished a copy of the PSA findings over the weekend, confirming that 405 of the total figures have no birth records in its database, while over 200 have matching names.

“Out of 677 [names] that we submitted, more than 400 yielded no birth record and more than 200 appear to have the same names,” he said.

Last week, Chua requested National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa to verify the civil registry records of the 677 individuals listed as recipients of the confidential funds under the acknowledgment receipt (AR) submitted by the OVP and DepEd to the Commission on Audit (CoA).

The request was prompted by the initial finding of the PSA that “Mary Grace Piattos,” one of the reported recipients who allegedly received the biggest chunk of the secret funds from Vice President Sara Duterte's office in 2022, had no records of birth, marriage, or death in the agency’s archives.

The name “Mary Grace Piattos” drew national attention due to its similarity to a popular local restaurant café and a brand of potato chips, although Duterte's Special Disbursing Officer, Gina Acosta, said that such a surname exists in her hometown of Davao City, where the Vice President once served as mayor.

In addition, PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande previously disclosed that the agency was unable to find any records of Kokoy Villamin, whose name appeared in multiple ARs from both the OVP and DepEd with inconsistent signatures.

Duterte headed DepEd for nearly two years until she resigned on July 19.

Verification from the PSA has further fueled lawmakers’ speculations that the ARs were likely fabricated or hastily submitted to the CoA to justify the spending of the secret funds.

Duterte is under intense scrutiny amid allegations of irregularities in her use of P650 million in confidential funds, which were allegedly supported by fictitious ARs. The rigorous House probe resulted in the filing of two impeachment complaints against the VP.

Duterte has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption and fund misuse, calling the House probe politically motivated and aimed at discrediting her ahead of elections.

Previously, Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre and Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman raised concerns that the alleged fake identities may only be the “tip of the iceberg” and may signal a larger fraudulent scheme.

Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V, meanwhile, implied that it could point to systemic fraud.

Over the weekend, Chua announced that they are gearing up to terminate the investigation after seven grueling hearings, as they had already identified the supposed recipients of the funds.

However, he said the committee could continue holding hearings involving fund concerns in DepEd.