Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The call for Vice President Sara Duterte to explain where millions worth of confidential funds went is stronger than ever, especially with reports that more supposedly fictitious names have been used for acknowledgement receipts (ARs) of the secret funds.

Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua and La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V expressed this belief on Monday, March 10 as they continued to press the impeached official to observe transparency.

“If these names are fabrications, then where did the money go? Who pocketed it?” asked Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

“These names don’t match any records in the PSA’s (Philippine Statistics Authority) database. Were these real people, or were they fabricated to justify fund disbursements?” he added.

These names include “Pia Piatos-Lim” and “Renan Piatos", which sound very much like "Mary Grace Piattos". 

The name Mary Grace Piattos--which on the surface appears to be an amalgam of a local cafe and potato chips brand--grabbed headlines last year when it was exposed by the good government panel as a recipients of confidential funds from the Vice President. 

Also appearing on the ARs was “Xiaome Ocho", a name that closely resembles a popular smartphone brand and model.

“The Filipino people deserve to know where their money went. Transparency is not optional—it is a fundamental obligation of public service,” Chua, a lawyer, said.

One of the grounds for Vice President Duterte's impeachment is the unexplained usage of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd).

For his part, Ortega stated, “If there is no clear list of beneficiaries, it only strengthens the case for impeachment. We cannot allow public funds to be disbursed without proper accountability.”

Ortega, a deputy majority leader, added that Duterte’s failure to account for the funds was a direct insult to taxpayers and provides yet another reason for the impeachment proceedings to push through immediately.

“The public will not tolerate corruption at this scale. If there are no real beneficiaries, then this was a massive, organized plunder of public funds,” he said. 

The House of Representatives is waiting on the Senate to begin Duterte's impeachment trial.