Out of 1,992 total alleged recipients of the contentious P500 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2023, nearly two-thirds, or 1,322, have no proof of birth, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed to the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
A recent verification report from the PSA showed that these 1,322 yielded negative birth records in its database, with 670 having “most likely matched” in records.
The PSA also found that of the 1,992, 1,456 lacked marriage records, with only 536 showing possible matches. Similarly, 1,593 had no death records, while just 399 had corresponding entries.
The search for these individuals was prompted by an earlier finding, confirming that the highly controversial “Mary Grace Piattos,” who allegedly received the biggest chunk of the OVP’s secret funds in 2022, had no records of birth, marriage, or death in the agency’s archives.
Subsequent results from the PSA also revealed discrepancies in the names found in the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s stint as secretary to the Commission on Audit (CoA). Out of 677 names examined, 405 had no birth records, 445 lacked marriage certificates, and 508 had no death certificates.
Committee chairperson Joel Chua reiterated that the latest findings of the PSA just added gravity to their long-standing suspicion that the “fabricated” ARs were part of a scheme to defraud the government in the guise of confidential funds.
“This certification from the PSA leaves little doubt: if these names cannot be found in the civil registry, it strongly suggests they do not exist. The ARs may have been manufactured to justify the disbursement of confidential funds,” he said Sunday.
He added, “These findings raise a critical question: if the recipients don’t exist, where did the money go? This is not just a clerical error; this points to a deliberate effort to misuse public funds.”
Lawmakers have been questioning the authenticity of these ARs, citing irregularities in the documents, including identical ink signatures and incorrect dates. Some were unsigned, some had missing names, and mostly, some bore "spurious" names, such as that of Piattos.
The name has since become the talk of the town as it resembles a popular local restaurant café and a brand of potato chips. However, Duterte's Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta said that such a surname actually exists in her hometown, Davao City, where the Vice President once served as mayor.
In addition, the PSA had also 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.
Other names flagged by lawmakers include Milky Secuya, a signatory in two ARs bearing the same day with the same pen and ink but with entirely different signatures, and Sally Rendon and Sheila Dado, who obviously have two different names but had the same signatures.
Duterte has been at the center of intense scrutiny amid these so-called irregularities involving her use of P650 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP (P500 million) and the DepEd (P112.5 million) in 2022 and 2023.
Her critics in the House are convinced that the ARs were fictitious and rushedly submitted to the CoA to justify the spending of the said funds.
Duterte has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption and fund misuse, calling the House probe politically motivated and aimed at discrediting her ahead of elections.
The rigorous House probe resulted in the filing of two impeachment complaints against the VP, accusing her of betrayal of public trust, among others.
Another impeachment complaint is expected to be filed this week, during the last three remaining session days before Congress goes on a month-long holiday break.