INQUIRER STOCK IMAGE
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� A total of 1,322 recipients of P500 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) have no birth records, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed in a statement on Sunday.
That鈥檚 about two-thirds of the 1,992 names submitted by the House committee on good government and public accountability for verification. The PSA said only 670 were identified as 鈥渕ost likely matched鈥� with existing records.
The PSA added that 1,456 individuals lacked marriage records, with only 536 names showing possible matches in their database.
The PSA likewise noted that 1,593 individuals had no death records, with 399 having corresponding entries.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority
鈥淭he current batch of names under scrutiny appeared on acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit to justify confidential fund expenditures from late 2022 to the third quarter of 2023,鈥� the PSA said.
The House blue ribbon committee chair, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, said the PSA鈥檚 latest findings 鈥減rovide strong evidence鈥� that the ARs submitted to justify the OVP鈥檚 confidential fund spending were likely fabricated.
鈥淭hese findings raise a critical question: if the recipients don鈥檛 exist, where did the money go? This is not just a clerical error; this points to a deliberate effort to misuse public funds,鈥� Chua said in a statement.
鈥淭his certification from the PSA leaves little doubt 鈥� if these names cannot be found in the civil registry, it strongly suggests they do not exist,鈥� he added.
搁贰础顿:听VP Duterte鈥檚 use of public funds triggers search for truth
搁贰础顿:听Security officer picked by VP Duterte disbursed confidential funds
This verification comes after the PSA鈥檚 earlier findings on a separate P112.5-million confidential fund used by the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte鈥檚 term as secretary in 2023.
鈥淥ut of 677 names investigated in that case, 405 had no birth records, 445 lacked marriage certificates, and 508 had no death certificates,鈥� the PSA explained.
The name 鈥淢ary Grace Piattos,鈥� listed in DepEd receipts, sparked public skepticism after the PSA confirmed no such person exists in its civil registry database.