Members of Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability of the House of Representatives’ have discovered that “Mary Grace Piattos” is not the only suspicious name on the acknowledgment receipts used to disburse the Vice President’s confidential funds. The name “Kokoy Villamin” has also raised concerns.
The name “Kokoy Villamin” was brought up during questions directed at officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP), as the receipts containing this name had the potential to be fraudulent documents submitted to justify the claiming of confidential funds.
Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong pointed out the repeated appearance of this new name in the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) from both the Department of Education (DepEd) and the OVP.
“Ibig sabihin, the point I’m trying to drive at, Mr. Chair, is that based on the documents and the [ARs], we do not have any other ways to really affirm whether these persons and individuals who have received the confidential funds were truly alive and truly person,” Adiong said.
Adiong showed a receipt dated September 17, 2023, with Villamin’s name as a recipient of funds from the OVP, followed by a second receipt showing that Villamin received funds from DepEd. The only difference between the two was the signature.
“Makikita po natin ‘yung medyo hindi ho kapanipaniwala. Ako, ordinary po ako na tao, I’m not an auditor, but as you can see it, pareho po ‘yung pangalan nila, Kokoy Villamin,” Adiong said.
“Iyung acknowledgment receipt from the [OVP] and, at the same time, from the DepEd, the same person, Kokoy Villamin from Ozamiz,” he added.
“Is it just a coincidence that the same two offices, headed by the same person, submitted the same [ARs] and encountered two persons with the same name? How unlikely would that be? Two persons with the same name bearing the same spelling, same last name, and the same first name,” he questioned.
COA official Gloria Camora stated that it was “highly unlikely” that this was the same person, noting that the handwriting and signatures were different, with the only similarity being the name.
“I think it’s very obvious, Mr. Chair, that the signatures on the (AR) submitted by the (OVP) are quite different from the (AR) received by the (DepEd). Parehong pangalan pero mukhang magkaiba,” Adiong remarked.
Adiong then questioned why the anomaly had not been flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).
“Kasi kung isa po ‘yung auditor nito, I think malalaman po nila ito and they will be flagged, ‘no? Kung bakit magkaparehong pangalan and magkaiba ‘yung signatures. Exactly the same spelling, and exactly the same family name,” Adiong said.
Adiong concluded his interpellation by emphasizing that the irregularities raised suspicions and that the ARs provided to the COA were questionable.
“With this kind of itong pang-aabuso sa ganitong proseso ng pag-audit na ibibigay lang po nila as (ARs), it opens up so many floodgates of questions which I believe ‘yun ‘yung pinakaimportante po na masagot,” he said.
“It’s very obvious, Mr. Chair, na hindi lang po si Mary Grace Piattos ang nakita po natin na questionable. Nakikita din po natin na may mga acknowledgment receipts, Mr. Chair, na pare-pareho ‘yung pangalan na magkakaiba ‘yung date na magkakaiba ‘yung kanilang pirma,” Adiong added.
