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According to House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V, seven more questionable names were
discovered that have been derived from a root crop, a fruit, and some formed from similar first names.
discovered that have been derived from a root crop, a fruit, and some formed from similar first names.
Five different individuals named “Dodong” appeared as fund recipients: Dodong Alcala, Dodong Bina, Dodong Bunal, Dodong Darong, and Dodong S. Barok.
“Una, may chichirya at cellphone. Ngayon, may prutas at kamote na. At higit sa lahat, mukhang ‘Dodong Gang’ na ito! Hindi lang isa, hindi lang tatlo—limang Dodong ang nasa listahan,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
Lawmakers earlier bore the names ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ and ‘Xiaome Ocho’ – derived from a brand of chips and a smartphone model, which have no birth records according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Similar to the two names, Ortega said that the seven names “have no birth, marriage, or death records at the PSA.”
PSA findings show that out of the 1,992 fund recipients, 1,332 have no birth records, 1,456 have no marriage records, and 1,593 have no death records.
He questioned if the names that the payroll for the CF recipients are ‘imaginary’ because he can’t determine if they are real people.
“Anong klaseng payroll ito? Imaginary? Hindi natin matukoy kung totoong tao ba ang mga tumanggap ng perang galing sa CIF,” the lawmaker added.
The names were found on acknowledgement receipts submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA) to justify its spending of P500 million worth of confidential funds from December 2022 to September 2023.
“This isn’t just negligence. This was a carefully made plan to squander public funds. The names were fake, the liquidation was fake, and the liability was fake,” Ortega said.
The issue on confidential funds were part of the seven articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Duterte was impeached by the House on Feb. 5 by a complaint signed by over 215 representatives, over one-third of votes needed according to the 1987 Constitution.
She filed a petition for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction on Feb. 18, questioning the validity and constitutionality of the impeachment complaint filed by the House.
Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero said on March 5 that no signature campaigns will force the Senate to convene for an impeachment trial and it will commence once the upper chamber returns from break on June 2.
