OVP confidential fund acknowledgment receipts bear ‘odd’ names

By Jose Cielito Reganit, Philippine News Agency

STRANGE NAMES. Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Xylene Mae Del Campo pores through the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President as she testified before the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday (Aug. 11, 2026). At least 23 curious names, some resembling those of public figures and others referring to food, appeared on selected acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to support confidential-fund expenditures in 2023. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

MANILA – At least 23 curious names, some resembling those of public figures and others referring to food, appeared Tuesday on selected acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to support confidential fund expenditures in 2023.

In her testimony, Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Xylene Mae Del Campo confirmed before the Senate impeachment court that the receipts shown by the prosecution formed part of the documents the OVP submitted to the Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO) in response to audit observations.

“During the evaluation po, I tabulated ang acknowledgment receipts based sa date kung kailan sila na-execute (Based on the dates they were executed), the expense and the amount po,” Del Campo testified.

For the first two quarters of 2023, the prosecution said Del Campo’s tabulations covered 1,049 acknowledgment receipts — 519 for the first quarter and 530 for the second.

Among the selected receipts carried the names Pia Piattos-Lim, Ralph Josh Bacon, Anne Ongpauco, Heart Santiago, Feonna Villegas, Beth Revilla, Clarisse Hontiveros, Jose Diokno Jr., Diane Maple Lapid and John A. Lapid Jr.

Documents shown in court indicate the following expenses: PHP140,000 under Piattos-Lim for the purchase of information; PHP150,000 under Bacon for the same purpose; PHP250,000 under Santiago for supplies; and PHP500,000 under Villegas for an expense described as medical and food aid.

For the third quarter, covering July 14 to Sept. 30, the names presented were Beverly Claire Pampano, Matthew N. Keso, Nova Santos, Salah Casim, Renan Piatos, Xiaome Ocho, Jay Kamote, Miggy Mango, Kokoy Villamin, “Contis, Connor Adrian,” Honeylet Camille Sy, Kristine Applegate Estrada and Denise Tanya Escudero.

The corresponding receipts included PHP250,000 under Keso, PHP200,000 under Kamote, PHP50,000 under Mango and PHP120,000 under Escudero. Their stated purposes included purchases of information or supplies and reward payments.

Del Campo made clear that ICFAO conducted a compliance audit and did not verify whether the named recipients existed or were related to similarly named public figures.

The auditor also distinguished an allowable expense from a properly supported transaction, and acknowledged that purchase of information is allowed.

For supplies, however, she said the acknowledgment receipts did not establish where the items were bought or how they were used.

“Yung mga acknowledgment receipts po na purchase of supplies, hiningan ko po ng additional documentation to ascertain po na ipinambili po talaga ito ng supplies (For acknowledgement receipts of purchase of supplies, we asked for additional documents to ascertain that these were really used in buying supplies),” Del Campo testified.

The OVP also submitted an April 4, 2024 certification by Col. Raymund Dante Lachica and Protective Intelligence Operations Reports to support reward payments. The certification referred to surveillance and information-gathering in 127 areas in the first quarter, and 111 areas in the second quarter.

Del Campo said the reports listed Vice Presidential engagements, probable threats and operational timelines, but did not show the particular result required to justify rewards.

“Hindi ko po nakita ’yung particular accomplishments po na magwa-warrant sa payment of rewards. Ang nakalagay lang sa certification is a general statement that there were no untoward incidents. Pero hindi po ito naging sapat (I didn’t see particular accomplishments that warranted a payment of rewards. The only certification placed there is a general statement that there were no untoward incidents, But these are not enough),” she said.

For the third quarter, Del Campo identified four issues cited in an Aug. 8, 2024 Audit Observation Memorandum: missing documentary evidence of payment, PHP35 million in rewards without proof of successful information-gathering or surveillance, unspecified confidential activities in the physical and financial plan, and an unsigned receipt portion of the disbursement voucher.

This article is republished from PNA.