Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Over 400 individuals listed as recipients of confidential funds disbursed by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) have no birth certificates, Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua said during the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability hearing Monday, Dec. 9.

Chua cited findings from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) dated Dec. 8, which was a response to the good government panel's request for the agency to cross-check the names of 677 acknowledgment receipt (AR) signatories from OVP and DepEd.

"Dito kanilang pong sinasabi na out of 677 individuals, 405 ay walang birth certificate o walang record sa birth certificate. O pwede nating sabihin na non-existent," said Chua, the panel chairman.

(Their findings indicate that out of the 677 individuals, 405 didn't have any birth certificates or record in the birth certificate database. Or maybe we can say that they're non-existent.)

The rather worrisome findings followed an earlier report from PSA that confidential funds recipient "Mary Grace Piattos" also lacked relevant records. In the Philippines, "Mary Grace" is the name of a restaurant, while "Piattos" is a brand of potato chips.

For months now, the Chua panel has been investigating the alleged misuse of P612.5 million confidential funds under the OVP and DepEd. Duterte served as education secretary from June 30, 2022 to July 19, 2024.

Monday's hearing summarized the results of the confidential funds probe so far.

The PSA’s Dec. 8 report, signed by National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis Mapa, also revealed that 445 individuals lacked marriage certificates, while 508 had no death certificates.

This indicates that other individuals subject to verification have one or more matching records in the civil registry.

One of the 677 names--a certain Kokoy Villamin--appeared on multiple receipts with varying signatures, which raised concerns of forgery on top of the Mary Grace Piattos fiasco.

The committee had earlier emphasized the importance of verifying the authenticity of all listed confidential fund recipients to ensure public funds were not funneled into fraudulent schemes.

While the panel's findings have shown significant progress, Chua acknowledged that the investigation is far from complete. 

More fake names?

During Monday’s hearing, Assistant Majority Leader Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong brought up new supposedly fabricated names from the ARs, a la Mary Grace Piattos.

Adiong identified some of these names as “Milky Secuya,” “Alice Crescencio,” “Sally,” and “Shiela,".

“Tayo po ay na-scam sa pamamagitan ng libo-libong [ARs] na basta-bastang dinoktor at gawa-gawa lang,” he said.

(We were scammed through these thousands of doctored and fabricated ARs.)

The Mindanao lawmaker accused the Duterte-led Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) of manufacturing almost 5,000 ARs to cover up what he called a systematic misuse of public funds. 

He highlighted how P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP for Dec. 21 to 31, 2022, was backed by receipts riddled with irregularities, including dates outside the funding period, forged signatures, and no-nexistent names.

Among the fabricated names, Adiong said Milky Secuya signed two ARs on the same day with the same pen and ink, yet with entirely different signatures. 

Similarly, Alice Crescencio appeared on three separate receipts allegedly issued in Pasay City, Iligan City, and Lanao del Sur—locations that are geographically impossible to visit simultaneously.

“Itong pangalan po na ito ay hindi pangkaraniwan (These names aren't common), and the chances of three different ‘Alice Crescencios,’ all receiving confidential funds for different purposes from the DepEd, is extremely slim,” said the "Young Guns" bloc member.

He flagged the names “Sally” and “Shiela,” whose receipts featured identical signatures despite supposedly belonging to two individuals from cities over 400 kilometers apart. 

“It makes you think: what are the chances that two different people, from Digos City and Surigao City, have the exact same signature?” he asked.

Remedial measures

To address issues concerning the secret funds, the Chua panel proposed two key laws: the Confidential and Intelligence Funds Act and the Act Regulating Special Disbursing Officers and Imposing Penalties for Misappropriation.

The first measure seeks stricter rules on the allocation and utilization of confidential funds, requiring detailed reports under oath and clear usage guidelines, while the second aims to strengthen safeguards for public funds by revisiting fidelity bond requirements and imposing stiffer penalties for abuse.

“Panahon na upang magpatupad ng mas mahigpit na mga alituntunin sa paggamit ng confidential funds, para sa mga confidential na gastos,” Chua said, as he called for reforms to ensure transparency without compromising legitimate national security concerns.

(It's high time that we implement stricter rules on the use of confidential funds, for confidential expenditures.)

“Kapag nagamit na ang confidential funds para sa kanilang layunin, wala nang dahilan upang hindi maging bukas at maging transparent,” he added.

(Once the confidential funds are used for their purpose, then there should be no excuse to avoid openness and transparency.)