NEWS
Prosecution hedges on outing more ‘aliases’
‘It would be good to really see where the money actually went and whether anyone received it.’
House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega said Sunday that the House prosecution panel could uncover more alleged “aliases” used as recipients of confidential funds when state auditor Xylene Mae del Campo testifies before the Senate impeachment court Monday.
Del Campo is expected to testify on acknowledgment receipts submitted to the Commission on Audit (CoA) by the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education, which could reveal names beyond those previously disclosed in congressional hearings.
“Well, we can’t deny that the name that has become famous is Mary Grace Piattos, but maybe we can also hear names like Chippy McDonald or Miggy Mango. Let’s wait because the prosecutors have a tactic for that. I’m sure it will be discussed,” Ortega said in a radio interview.
Del Campo’s testimony on 5 August was cut short after the prosecution and defense disagreed over the authentication and stipulation of thousands of acknowledgment receipts from the offices previously headed by Vice President Sara Duterte.
Prosecutors said Del Campo would discuss CoA findings on how the confidential funds were liquidated. Her testimony follows that of former state auditor Roderick Wamil, who pointed to irregularities involving supporting documents and the use of confidential funds.
The alleged recipients listed in the acknowledgment receipts had drawn scrutiny after a Philippine Statistics Authority official told a House hearing in April that most had no birth records, including Piattos.
Wamil previously said Joint Circular 2015-01, which governs the use and audit of confidential funds, did not clearly state whether aliases were allowed or prohibited.
CoA has ordered the restitution of P73.8 million in confidential funds from the OVP for 2022.
Ortega said the issue went beyond determining how much money was improperly used, stressing the importance of establishing who actually received the funds.
“It would be good to really see where the money actually went and whether anyone received it,” he said.