More fictitious ‘confi fund’ names surface

The list of alleged fictitious recipients of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds has grown, with a recent addition including the surname “Ewan,” a colloquial term meaning “I have no idea.”

This comes as House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V on Sunday revealed the new set of “suspicious” names found in acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by Duterte’s office and the Department of Education (DepEd), which she headed for nearly two years, to the Commission on Audit (CoA).

The list includes “Erwin Q. Ewan,” “Honeylet Camille Sy,” “Feonna Biong,” “Feonna Villegas,” “Fiona Ranitez,” “Ellen Magellan,” “Gary Tanada” and “Joel Linangan.”

Ortega suggested that these names mimic celebrities and high-profile personalities, raising concerns about the ARs’ authenticity and potential misuse of the secret funds.

“The repeated use of fake names that seem to be taken from movies and showbiz is no longer funny,” Ortega said. “Public funds are at stake. If they can’t show evidence that these individuals are real, this will be strong evidence against her in the impeachment trial.”

He added that the recurring appearance of such “playful” names may indicate a systemic attempt to conceal transactions involving confidential funds.

Similar to previously flagged recipients, including “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango,” “Mico Harina” and “Ralph Josh Bacon,” the new names have no birth, marriage, or death records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

'The use and distribution of such funds should not be a joke… If there is anything that needs to be answered, it should be reserved for the impeachment trial.'

Previous PSA verifications revealed that a significant portion of supposed recipients listed by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd lacked essential records.

Ortega argued that these alleged fictitious names could serve as strong evidence of Duterte’s “wrongdoing,” unless the OVP and DepEd provide verifiable documentation for each listed name.

Meantime, House prosecutor Lorenz Defensor asserted that the questions surrounding Duterte’s confidential funds must be addressed during the impeachment trial.

“The use and distribution of such funds should not be a joke… If there is anything that needs to be answered, it should be reserved for the impeachment trial,” said Defensor.

“The House of Representatives has been waiting for a sensible answer from the DepEd and the OVP since the committee hearings started. If this had been answered correctly, explained thoroughly, it would not have gone deeper and the people would not have wondered why there are names based on nonsense like those of Piattos,” he added.