A House leader called on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to verify all names listed in the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Vice President Sara Duterte following the discovery that a supposed recipient of its confidential funds was fictitious.
Deputy Majority Leader and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V said the PSA must conduct a comprehensive review after it confirmed that “Mary Grace Piattos,” an alleged fund recipient cited in OVP liquidation documents, does not exist.
“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 Commission on Audit (COA),” Ortega said.
The PSA certification confirmed that Piattos has no birth, marriage, or death records. Her name appeared in the ARs submitted to COA to justify expenses from the OVP’s ₱ 500 million confidential funds, disbursed across four quarters from late 2022 to 2023.
Ortega warned that using a fabricated identity in official documents could point to systemic fraud.
“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 said.
He urged the PSA to cross-check all other names in the submitted receipts to uncover the potential breadth of the irregularities.
“Hindi puwedeng tumigil tayo sa isa lang. The PSA’s findings should serve as a springboard for conducting an investigation. The Filipino people deserve transparency and accountability, especially when using public funds,” Ortega pointed out.
Assistant Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre and Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman had warned of a possible scheme to falsify financial records within the OVP under Vice President Duterte.
Both lawmakers said the discovery of Piattos as a fabricated entity might be just the “tip of the iceberg.”
Echoing their concerns, Ortega said, “The certification from the PSA opens up a Pandora’s box of potential anomalies.”
“If one name was falsified, it is not unreasonable to suspect that other receipts may also contain fictitious names,” he added.
Ortega also backed Acidre’s assertion that the principle of “falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus” (false in one, false in all) applies to the OVP’s financial records.
“Kung gawa-gawa si Mary Grace Piattos, ano pa ang totoo sa mga dokumentong ito? We need to ensure that every peso spent is accounted for and supported by truthful, verifiable records,” he stressed.
