Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability has confirmed suspicions about the controversial "Mary Grace Piattos" who was among the signatories of acknowledgement receipts (ARs) for confidential funds that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA).

Committee chairman, Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua bared on Tuesday, Dec. 3 that they have received certification from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) denying the existence of a person named Mary Grace Piattos. 

Citing the one-page document, Chua said the PSA database contained no records on the birth, marriage, or death of a Mary Grace Piattos. 

“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 in the database,” the PSA said.

The so-called House Blue Ribbon Committee earlier sought help from the PSA to get to the bottom of the identity of the particular AR signatory in its continuing inquiry on the alleged misuse of P612.5-million confidential funds by offices under Vice President Duterte. 

In the Philippines, "Mary Grace" is the name of a restaurant, while "Piattos" is a brand of potato chips. This has led to suspicions that the signed AR submitted to COA for liquidation purposes was baloney. 

Chua said the PSA certification will be made part of the panel's committee report.

Serious implications

Reacting to the PSA certification, Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman said in a press conference Tuesday: "In effect, that certification means that Mary Grace Piattos does not exist, and that has serious implications."

"When you submit documents to the COA na may taong nagngangalang Mary Grace Piattos to justify ng certain gastos pero mapatunayan mong wala, parang mayroon element of fraud doon," she said.

(When you submit documents to the COA and claim the existence of Mary Grace Piattos to justify certain expenditures but in the end get proven false, then there might be an element of fraud there.)

"So I guess that has to be taken into consideration," noted Roman.

Deputy Majority Leader Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre agreed.

"Pag may makita tayong mali sa isa, hindi malayong ganun din yung iba...may basis po tayo na tanungin at suriin pa kung yung ibang mga resibo, yung ibang AR eh pareho din, kasing spurious din nung AR na ito," he said in the same presser.

(If we find one spurious, then it's reasonable to think that the others are too...we have a basis to ask questions and study the other ARs to find out if they're just as spurious as this.)

'Imbento lang pala'

Members of the "Young Guns" bloc in the House of Representatives earlier raised a P1-million reward to anybody who can help in the search of a person named Mary Grace Piattos. 

“Kaya pala walang nag-claim ng P1 million reward kasi peke talaga,” Assistant Majority Leader Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun said in a Tuesday. 

“Nakakabahala na umabot tayo sa ganitong level ng kasinungalingan. Sa mga opisyal ng gobyerno na dapat nagbibigay ng tamang impormasyon, imbento lang pala ang Mary Grace Piattos,” Khonghun said.

(It's worrisome that we reached this level of lies. To the government officials who should be giving the right information, Mary Grace Piattos was merely invented.)

Khonghun pointed out that such fabrications not only undermine public trust but also reflect poor governance. As such, he called for Congress to intensify its scrutiny of the OVP, and reiteratg the need for transparency. 

“This is not just about one name. It’s about integrity in public service. Congress has a duty to protect the people’s money,” he said. 

He also urged the government to institute safeguards against similar fabrications in the future. “Dapat magkaroon ng mas mahigpit na proseso para hindi na maulit ang ganitong klaseng anomalya.”

(There needs to be a stricter process so that this kind of anomaly won't be repeated.)