MANILA, Philippines — After confirming that “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin” are not in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) database, House lawmakers asked the agency to verify 677 more names of alleged confidential fund recipients.

Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District), chair of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, sought the PSA’s assistance once again on Friday, December 6. 

In a letter to PSA National Statistician Claire Dennie Mapa, Chua requested the agency to cross-check 677 names for any records of birth, marriage or death certificates.

“If even one peso was spent improperly, it is our responsibility to find out and hold those responsible to account,” Chua said.

The committee has raised suspicions about the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) to the Commission on Audit to justify their use of P612.5 million in confidential funds. 

Lawmakers found inconsistencies in the receipts, including incorrect or missing dates, fictitious names and similarities in ink and penmanship, leading them to think that the receipts may have been fabricated.

Piattos was the most notable name revealed during the committee hearings, with lawmakers finding it absurd for someone to be named after a Filipino-based cafe and potato chip brand.

PSA informed the committee on Monday, December 2, that Piattos’ name does not appear in the Civil Registry System, which keeps a record of the Philippine population. 

RELATED: No 'Mary Grace Piattos' in the Civil Registry System — PSA

On Wednesday, December 4, the PSA confirmed that there were no records of Kokoy Villamin's name. The committee also flagged several acknowledgment receipts that contained handwriting identical to Villamin’s.

The acknowledgment receipts indicated that recipients had received amounts ranging from P40,000 to P100,000, with the total of the “bogus” receipts amounting to P23.8 million.

“Ensuring the authenticity of these recipients is crucial for maintaining transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. We are committed to uncovering the truth behind these transactions,” Chua said.

At the committee’s seventh hearing, the OVP and DepEd special disbursing officers under Vice President Sara Duterte’s leadership revealed that they only released the confidential funds to designated security officers. 

Both said the security officers were tasked to deliver the payments themselves to confidential fund recipients, instead of the special disbursing officers. 

However, Joint Circular 2015-01, which provides guidelines for the use and accounting of confidential funds, requires special disbursing officers to handle the disbursements and properly account for them with acknowledgment receipts.

Two impeachment complaints have been filed against Dutertedragon casino online, both alleging misuse and abuse of confidential funds based on the committee’s investigation.

Related Stories Is ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ real? P1M reward up for info on OVP fund recipient DepEd, OVP disbursing officers: 'Security officers' handled confidential funds VP Sara Duterte faces 2nd impeachment complaint

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