Check all names in VP’s receipts, PSA told

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority must verify the 4,500 acknowledgment receipts (ARs) Vice President Sara Duterte submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA) as proof of payment for confidential funds, a congressman said yesterday.

“The revelation that ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ is a fictitious identity raises serious red flags. The PSA must immediately audit and verify all the names appearing in the ARs submitted by the OVP to the COA,” House deputy majority leader Rep. Paolo Ortega V said.

The PSA certification earlier confirmed that no birth, marriage or death records exist for Piattos. Her name appeared in the ARs submitted to COA to justify expenses from the OVP’s P500-million confidential funds, disbursed across four quarters from late 2022 to 2023.

“This isn’t just an isolated case. If a fabricated name was used to justify millions of pesos in spending, it undermines the integrity of public accountability. It also raises the question: how many more fake names might be buried in those ARs?” he asked.

Mary Grace is a name of a popular restaurant known for its ensaymada, while Piattos is a premium cheese-laden potato chip brand.

In an interview yesterday, another PSA official confirmed that they have no records of a person named “Kokoy Villamin,” who twice appeared in Duterte’s ARs in the OVP and the Department of Education.

Deputy majority leader Rep. Jude Acidre and committee on women and gender equality chair Rep. Geraldine Roman warned of potential fraud and systemic misuse of public funds in the OVP under Duterte, noting that Mary Grace Piattos may just be the “tip of the iceberg.”

Acidre and Roman said the fake identity may signal a larger scheme of falsified OVP financial records, .

“She is only a tip of the iceberg,” Acidre said, warning that the discovery of one falsified receipt raises questions about the authenticity of other financial records submitted by the OVP.

“If we discovered one mistake, it is not farfetched that all the others are also wrong,” Acidre said. “If Mary Grace Piattos is fictitious, then the people were robbed.” – Jose Rodel Clapano