Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Lawmakers from two panels in the House of Representatives have pooled a P1-million reward for anyone who can provide information on the identity of a certain "Mary Grace Piattos"--an alleged signatory who has cast further doubt on the proprietary of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) utilization of confidential funds.

During a press conference on Monday, Nov. 18,  Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson Khonghun said members of the House quad-committee (quad-comm) and the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability voluntarily raised the amount to help solve the mystery once and for all.

“Magbibigay kami ng pabuya na P1 million sa kung sinumang makakapagsabi o makakapagbigay ng impormasyon kung sino si Mary Grace Piattos at matutulungan tayo maiharap siya sa hearing,” said Khonghun.

(We will give a reward of P1 million to anyone who can tell or provide information on who Mary Grace Piattos is, and help us bring her to the hearing.)

“Kasi gusto namin malaman kung may katotohanan ba ‘yung katauhan ni Mary Grace Piattos,” he added.

(It's because we want to know if there is any truth to the identity of Mary Grace Piattos.)

Khonghun said that confirming the identity of the signatory will allow the Good Government and Public Accountability committee to invite her to its next hearing.

The panel is currently investigating the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the OVP, as well as the Department of Education (DepEd) under the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte as secretary.

During a recent hearing, the name of Mary Grace Piattos came under scrutiny after she was found to have signed an acknowledgement receipt.

The receipt is in connection with the documents submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA), which the panel continues to call into question.

It was Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop, in particular, who flagged the signatory named Mary Grace Piattos.

Acop pointed out the absurdity of the name, which he said only raised suspicions on the legitimacy of the amount disclosed on the receipt.

Khonghun, meanwhile, pointed out that the name signed the largest amount of the OVP’s confidential funds.

The particular name also caught the attention of social media.

Netizens pointed out that “Mary Grace” was the name of a Filipino restaurant, while “Piattos” was a local brand of potato chips.

Khonghun, a vice chairman of the good government panel, noted that the OVP continued to insist that Mary Grace Piattos was a real person.  

“At least we can put it to rest, kasi kami hindi kami naniniwala na totoong may Mary Grace Piattos,” the lawmaker said.

(At least we can put it to rest, because we don't believe that Mary Grace Piattos really exists.)

If the name of such a person is proven to be a work of fiction, Khonghun says this could mean that the other signatories are fabricated as well.

“We want to set an example kung ano, sino, at saan ba talaga si Mary Grace Piattos para at least makilala natin kasi ang ganda ng pangalan niya, ang sarap ng pangalan, nakakagutom,” he quipped.

(We want to set an example of what, who, and where Mary Grace Piattos really is so that we can at least get to know her because her name is beautiful, her name is delicious, it makes us hungry.)

Khonghun says that the panel’s ongoing inquiry is intent on finding out the truth behind the OVP and DepEd’s utilization of confidential funds.

“Para at least hindi na ito maulit at makapapasa  tayo ng batas para mai-safeguard natin ‘yung pang-aabusong nangyari sa confidential fund,” the solon explained.

(So that at least this won't happen again and we can pass a law to safeguard the confidential fund from abuses.)