House panel requests PSA to verify recipients of OVP, DepEd confidential funds
A House panel had formally requested the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to verify the identity of almost 700 individuals as part of its investigation on Vice President Sara Duterte’s use of confidential funds.
In the letter dated Dec. 5 signed by panel chair Rep. Joel Chua, the House Good Government and Public Accountability panel requested the civil registry documents, including birth and marriage records of a total of 677 individuals amid their probe on the use of confidential funds of Duterte’s office and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her term as the secretary.
“This is deeply troubling. If 'Mary Grace Piattos' doesn’t exist in official records, we have to question whether the other 677 names are legitimate or if they are part of a wider scheme to misuse funds,” Committee Chair Joel Chua said, as per the PTV report.
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.
“However, if additional information such as the name of parents of the subject, date, and place of the vital event can be provided, we can search further and be able to ascertain whether the civil registry document is available on the database,” the PSA added.
Mary Grace Piattos' signature appeared in acknowledgment receipts for confidential funds of the offices held by Duterte: P500 million for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) from 2022 to the third quarter of 2023 and P112.5 million for DepEd when she was still the secretary.
However, administration lawmakers believe 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.
"[Mahalagang] malaman natin kung ano 'yung katotohanan," said Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, committee vice chairman, in a press conference. "Napaka-importante na ‘yung mga tao mismo na tumanggap ng pondo, pumirma sa acknowledgement receipt, makausap at maka-attend ng hearing. Isa na nga dito, si 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.
