Metro Manila, Philippines – Acknowledgment receipts issued by the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte show multiple payouts of hundreds of thousands of pesos to people nationwide in just one day when, under the rules, only one person is authorized to disburse confidential funds, a state auditor said.
The prosecution panel presented its case at the resumption of the impeachment trial on Tuesday, Aug. 11, focusing on DepEd receipts for various payments.
The receipts all dated Feb. 21, 2023 listed the following:
+only a signature provided, Danao, ₱50,000
+Alfred Avanta, Malolos, ₱100,000
+Mary Santilliano, Davao City, ₱50,000
+Amy Liu, Negros Occidental, ₱45,000
+only a signature provided, San Francisco Agusan del Sur, ₱100,000
+Andre Galor, Makati City, ₱100,000
+only a signature provided, Negros Oriental, ₱40,000
On Feb. 25, 2023, the DepEd had another batch of recipients:
+Geraldine Omoy, Masbate, ₱200,000
+only a signature provided, Laoag, ₱100,000
+Jaime Aquino, Davao, ₱45,000
+only a signature provided, Agusan del Norte, ₱40,000
+Rex Napoles, Olongapo, ₱50,000
+only a signature provided, Samar, ₱40,000
+Eduardo Tan, Masbate, ₱150,000
+Lito Saludores, Loboc, ₱50,000
+Janine Bartolin, Pangasinan, ₱50,000
+only a signature provided, Compostela Valley, ₱50,000
+Luilito Agord, Davao, ₱45,000
+only a signature provided, Masbate, ₱50,000
+Andree Lacerna, Nueva Ecija, ₱100,000
+Jamil Jaldon, Koronadal City, ₱100,000
+only a signature provided, Batangas, ₱9,000
+Jamby Mante, Kalinga Apayao, ₱50,000
+Rona de Vera, South Leyte, ₱50,000
+only a signature provided, Abra, ₱50,000
Similar batches of single date payments were made on March 15 and Aug. 9, 2023.
Xylene del Campo of the Commission on Audit (COA) Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office confirmed that the receipts were issued on singular dates.
The DepEd special disbursing officer (SDO) at the time was Edward Fajarda. Per Joint Circular 2015-01 governing the use of confidential funds, only the SDO can make disbursements.
Counsel for prosecution Lorna Kapunan described the SDO as the superhero Superman who could leap and be in many places in a single bound.
Kapunan asked Del Campo if the DepEd submitted documents delegating disbursement duties to other employees. The auditor said Duterte certified only Fajarda as the SDO for confidential funds.
Defense spokesperson and lawyer Michael Poa told reporters after the trial session that his panel would address the issues at the proper time.
“We’re confident we can address that,” he said.
More ‘Piatos’
The prosecution presented the names of more people who received confidential fund payments from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2023.
These are:
+Pia Piatos-Lim
+Ralph Josh Bacon
+Anne Ongpauco
+Heart Santiago
+Feonna Villegas
+Beth Revilla
+Clarisse Hontiveros
+Jose Diokno Jr.
+Diane Maple Lapid
+John A. Lapid
+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
+Denise Tanya Escudero
A number of the names were like food items, such as Pia Piatos-Lim and Renan Piatos, monikers similar to the questionable “Mary Grace Piattos.”
Meanwhile, the names Renan Piatos and Nova Santos stood out because they were also recipients during the disbursement period on Dec. 21 to 31, 2022.
READ: Mary Grace Piattos, Renan Piatos, Andy Lim in OVP confidential fund receipts
The receipts for Santos dated Dec. 21, 2022 and July 27, 2023 bore different signatures.
