OVP, DepEd confidential fund recipients included kids, dead people – PSA

MANILA, Philippines – A top official of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) testified before the impeachment court on Monday, September 7, that the signatories of the confidential fund receipts of Vice President Sara Duterte‘s offices bore the names of children and dead people. According to Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande, out of 2,669 alleged confidential fund payees of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), only 152 had a single-matched entry in the PSA’s civil registry system. From that number, 37 had death records, such as the names Fortunato Salig, Emilio Sagan, Rodolfo Traya, and Marlin Sunga. Twenty-five names, meanwhile, have birthdays that indicate they are under 16 years old, such as Beatrice Cuenca, Miko Aluizar, and Mikay delos Reyes. In total, 1,685 names have no PSA certificates of live birth, marriage, or death. “In short, confidential funds were liquidated in the names of the non-existent, the long dead, and children,” prosecutor Mae Divinagracia said in her offer of testimony. Play Video The non-existent records include that of “Mary Grace Piattos,” the infamous name flagged during the House’s investigation against Duterte’s confidential spending in 2024. The name appears to be a combination of a restaurant chain and a snack brand. Piattos was originally part of the witness list of the prosecution, but the team said it will no longer present her. “What’s important is that according to PSA records, she doesn’t exist. It’s difficult to find someone who does not exist,” prosecution spokesman Zia Alonto Adiong said. Defending the Vice President, her lawyer Justin Gular argued that not all births, marriage, and deaths are recorded in the PSA’s database, and that the PSA does not have a repository of aliases used in confidential operations. Duterte’s camp also claimed for the first time that the names were aliases. Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo said the use of aliases in government agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation is a standard operating procedure but he flagged the possibility that only one person signed the receipts due to similar handwriting. – Rappler.com