405 recipients of confidential funds from VP Sara Duterte have no birth records—PSA
405 out of the 677 individuals indicated in the acknowledgment receipts from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd)’s confidential funds under Vice President Sara Duterte have no birth records, the House committee said.
Rep. Joel Chua, panel chairperson of the House Good Government and Public Accountability Committee, made the statement on Monday, Dec. 9, citing the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) findings.
“Tayo ay sumulat upang isumite ang 677 pang pangalan na nakalagay sa acknowldgement receipts kung saan tayo po ay binigyan ng tugon ng Philippine Statistics [Authority] dated December 8, 2024. Dito [ay] kanila pong sinasabi na out of 677 individuals, 405 ay walang birth certificate o walang record sa birth certificate, o pwede nating sabihin na non-existent,” Chua said.
Other lawmakers also presented their discoveries in the acknowledgment receipts probe. House Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong asserted that the receipts were fabricated, noting anomalies in the indicated name and signatures.
In an example given, certain individuals “Milky Secuya” and “Kokoy Villamin” showed at least two different signatures under their names, while others like "Sally Rendon" and "Shiela Dado," who are from different locations, have been found to have same signatures.
“For me, Mr. Chair, only one person did these acknowledgment receipts, but merely changed his handwriting style from print to script in writing the name and the addresses but also forgetting probably to change the signature,” Adiong said.
“One thing is extremely clear to this representation, tayo po ay na-scam sa pamamagitan ng libo libong acknowledgement receipts na basta basta lamang dinoktor o gawa-gawa lamang. Almost 5,000 acknowledgement receipts of dubious origin kapalit ang P612.5 million na confidential funds na basta basta lang naglaho mula sa kaban ng bayan sa ilalim ng pamumuno ng ating bise presidente,” Adiong added.
Prior to this, PSA said on Dec. 3 upon checking its Civil Registry System database, “Mary Grace Piattos,” who is allegedly among the recipients of confidential funds, was found to have no Certificate of Live Birth, Certificate of Marriage, or Certificate of Death.
Mary Grace Piattos' signature appeared in acknowledgment receipts for confidential funds of the offices held by Duterte: P500 million for the OVP from 2022 to the third quarter of 2023 and P112.5 million for DepEd when she was still the secretary.
However, administration lawmakers flagged that the “person” isn't real. On Nov. 18, the House committee announced it's offering a reward worth P1 million for any information on Mary Grace Piattos.
Duterte has been in hot water for the alleged misuse of funds for her offices' programs and her refusal to answer questions regarding her offices' expenses, particularly the confidential funds worth P775 million for the OVP and DepEd during her budget proposal's first hearing. She was seeking a P2.037-billion budget for 2025, which was cut to P733 million. Her office has a P1.885-billion budget for 2024.
