The House of Representatives’ good government and public accountability panel has reiterated its request to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to verify the identities of 1,992 individuals who allegedly received confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) between December 2022 and September 2023.
In a December 9 letter, panel chair and Manila Representative Joel Chua requested National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis Mapa to check the civil registry documents—such as birth, marriage, and death records—of the individuals listed in acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Suspicious Records
This follow-up request comes after PSA confirmed that 405 individuals linked to confidential fund receipts during Vice President Sara Duterte’s tenure as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) lacked birth records. These individuals also appeared as signatories in acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to COA.
Chua described the absence of records as raising serious doubts about the authenticity of the OVP’s liquidation process.
“The absence of birth records for these 405 individuals makes the liquidation of confidential funds by the OVP highly suspicious. If PSA certifies that the names are not in their database, it will strengthen suspicions that these individuals do not exist, and the acknowledgment receipts were fabricated,” Chua stated.
Faulty Liquidation Documents
Earlier investigations revealed several inconsistencies in the OVP and DepEd’s liquidation documents, including incorrect dates, unreadable signatures, and unnamed signatories.
Notably, one supposed signatory, Mary Grace Piattos, was found to have no record in the PSA database.
The House panel is considering legislation to require greater transparency and impose penalties for misuse of confidential funds.