House to verify if real names on VP fund list received money

FILE: Vice President Sara Duterte briefed senators on proposed 2025 budget of the Office of Vice President (OVP). For next year, the OVP is seeking a budget of P2.037 billion, which will be allotted to personal services, maintenance and other operating expenses, and capital outlay. (Photo: Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate Social Media Unit via Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

By Filane Mikee Cervantes, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The House of Representatives will verify whether individuals whose names appear to be legitimate in the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential fund records actually received public money, a lawmaker said on Monday.

In a press conference, House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V said the 942 names confirmed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to exist – 670 recipients listed under the OVP’s acknowledgement receipts and 272 under the Department of Education (DepEd) – will be reviewed.

“Maganda rin pong malaman kung nakatanggap nga po ba sila o hindi (It would be good to know whether they really received the funds or not),” he said.

According to Ortega, the House is reviewing roughly 4,000 acknowledgment receipts to determine who received the money.

The review follows findings that out of 1,992 supposed OVP recipients, 1,322 had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records.

It was also earlier revealed that 405 out of the 677 names listed as beneficiaries of DepEd’s confidential funds under Vice President Sara Duterte have no birth records.

Ortega said confirming whether the “real” individuals received funds is just as important as flagging fictitious entries.

“So again, we have to verify. Mas maganda naman po na sigurado po tayo na itong mga pangalan na ‘to eh meron or wala pong records (So again, we need to verify. It’s better to be certain whether these names have records or not),” Ortega said.

The lawmaker said some names flagged as fake resembled puns, grocery items, or well-known brands, including “Beverly Claire Pampano,” “Mico Harina,” and “Xiaome Ocho.”

Another cluster of recipients dubbed by Ortega as “Team Amoy Asim” includes Amoy Liu, Fernan Amuy and Joug De Asim.

The House has also flagged names like Mary Grace Piattos, which combines a popular bakery and snack food, and Xiaome Ocho, which closely resembles a well-known smartphone brand.

Ortega emphasized that strict compliance with rules is necessary when handling confidential funds.

“Napaka-simple naman po – susundin lang ‘yung guidelines, may paraan po diyan sa paggamit ng confidential funds (It’s simple – just follow the guidelines. There are procedures for using confidential funds),” he said.

Ortega added that any real answers may now come only through the impeachment process.