By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Following the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) certification results proving the non-existence of “Mary Grace Piattos”, a supposed recipient of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) confidential funds, House leaders expressed concerns on Tuesday (Dec. 3) over potential fraud and systemic misuse of public funds in the OVP under Vice President Sara Duterte.
Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre (Tingog Party-list) and Committee on Women and Gender Equality Chair Geraldine Roman (Bataan, 1st District) said the fake identity may signal a larger scheme of falsified OVP financial records, which poses serious risks to public accountability.
The PSA certification confirmed that no birth, marriage, or death records exist for Piattos, a name appearing in acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA). These receipts were used to justify expenses from OVP confidential funds, totaling P500 million across four quarters from late 2022 to 2023.
“When you submit documents to the COA na merong taong nagngangalang ‘Mary Grace Piattos’, na magdiya-justify ng certain gastos pero mapatunayan mong wala, parang merong element of fraud soon,” Rep. Roman pointed out.
“Kung walang Mary Grace Piattos, lahat ng dokumentong pinirmahan ni Mary Grace Piattos ay huwad at hindi makatotohanan,” she added further.
With no record of Piattos in the national civil registry, Acidre said the identity may be merely scratching the surface of irregularities in the OVP’s financial records under Vice President Duterte.
“Hindi lamang si Mary Grace Piattos ang problema. Tip of the iceberg lang siya,” the Tingog rep stressed, describing the PSA findings as a significant turning point in uncovering potential misuse of public funds.
He also cautioned that the discovery of one falsified receipt raises questions about the authenticity of other financial records submitted by the OVP, pointing out that this may lead to further discovery of other illicit documents.
“Mary Grace Piattos” latest in a series of expository evidence about mishandled confidential funds
Acidre also pointed to other findings by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, also known as the Blue Ribbon Committee, revealing systemic lapses in how the OVP handled its confidential funds.
He cited the testimony from OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta, who admitted to transferring custody of confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, commander of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, upon direct orders from Vice President Duterte.
Rep. Acidre emphasized how this transfer breached standard financial protocols that potentially constitute technical malversation, manifesting in the discovered red flags on the receipts such as mismatched signatures, identical handwriting, and uniform ink usage.
“Kita natin doon magkakaibang pangalan, parehong pangalan, magkakaibang pirma, minsan pare-pareho ng ballpen at nag-iisang tinta lang,” he pointed out.
The House leader clarified that while Congress cannot prosecute, the findings should be forwarded to the Department of Justice for further action.
“Ang trabaho natin ay maglahad ng recommendations at sana ho tingnan ng ating piskalya o ng DOJ itong mga ebidensya for what it is,” he concluded. (with report from Mela Lesmoras/PTV News)
-iro