PSA verifying more names on OVP receipts for secret fund expenditures
Vice President Sara Duterte. 黑料社 FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has submitted more names found on the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) for confidential fund (CF) expenditures of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for verification.
House committee on good government and public accountability chair and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said the number of names on the OVP’s ARs is higher since its CF has a larger allocation compared to the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte’s leadership.
READ: No PSA records of 400 names in DepEd secret fund’s receipts – solon
“Under the OVP, if I’m not mistaken, there are 2,000 [names] but I’m not sure and will double-check. But since the OVP’s CF budget is P500 million, there were many names,” Chua said in Filipino in a press briefing after the panel’s eighth hearing on Monday.
Article continues after this advertisementThe panel is probing the alleged misuse of CFs of the OVP and DepEd under Duterte’s leadership.
Article continues after this advertisementEarlier, Chua revealed that 405 of 677 names on the ARs for the CFs of the DepEd have no record with the PSA.
Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin were among the names that surfaced during the investigation of the panel.
The PSA revealed that Mary Grace Piattos has a “negative record” of birth, marriage, and death in the “PSA Civil Registry System database.” The agency also said Kokoy Villamin has no record in its database.
During the panel’s hearing on Monday, lawmakers found out that three Alice Crescencio with different signatures and addresses signed three DepEd ARs. This name also has no record with the PSA, the agency said.
