House prosecution panel spokesperson Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong can't wait to see the infamous "Mary Grace Piattos" in person.

This, as the prosecutors and the entire country for that matter wait in bated breath for the start of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial on July 6.

“Ako nga, excited. Lahat tayo, sino ba talaga si Mary Grace Piattos? Kung makaka-produce sila doon ng ganong klaseng tao,” Adiong said in an online interview.

(I myself am excited. All of us, who really is Mary Grace Piattos? If they can produce that kind of person.)

So, what's the big deal about Mary Grace Piattos appearing in the hearings as a witness for Vice President Duterte? She was the mysterious figure whose name appeared in acknowledgment receipts (ARs) linked to the confidential funds that the impeachment respondent controlled under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Congress have long suspected that Mary Grace Piattos is a fictitious name, since it is an amalgam of a popular café and a potato chips brand in the Philippines.

The name has since become a poster personality for the alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds on the part of Duterte, dating back to the previous 19th Congress when she was first impeached.

The House prosecution panel has repeatedly cited findings from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which found no record of a person named Mary Grace Piattos.

“Ang sa atin, ang allegation natin, based on the evidence that we gathered, ‘yung testimonya, ‘yung document and report ng PSA na walang tao, na wala silang record ng Mary Grace Piattos,” he said.

("For us, our allegation is based on the evidence we gathered, the testimony, the document and the PSA report that there is no such person, that they have no record of Mary Grace Piattos.")

Adiong also pointed to alleged irregularities as discovered by forensic experts from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who examined signatures appearing on the questioned ARs.

“‘Yung NBI, the forensic experts na nag-analyze at nag-examine nung specimen ng signatures, sinasabi, ‘Teka hindi ito maraming tao ang pumirma.’ Pareho-pareho kasi. Iisa lang,” he said.

("The NBI forensic experts who analyzed and examined the signature specimens said, ‘Wait, this was not signed by many people.’ They were all the same. Just one person.")

He said that this was consistent with the observations raised by lawmakers during hearings conducted by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

“So it only reinforces our initial suspicion. Ito’y talagang ginawa in such a way na na-abuse ‘yung confidential funds," noted the Midnanaoan.

(So it only reinforces our initial suspicion. This was really done in such a way that the confidential funds were abused.)

The assailed ARs form part of the allegations cited in the articles of impeachment against Duterte, particularly those involving the alleged misuse of the secret funds during her tenure as Vice President and DepEd secretary.

Adiong also cited the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA), which issued notices of disallowance covering portions of the confidential funds of the OVP and DepEd due to deficiencies in supporting documents, including the ARs.