Metro Manila, Philippines – The prosecution panel presented 11 acknowledgement receipts documenting the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) payments to people – including the questionable Mary Grace Piattos – with ₱125 million in confidential funds (CFs) spent from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022.
On Monday, August 3, the prosecution continued its presentation on Impeachment Article I, on Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of CF, summoning state auditor Roderick Wamil to testify on the agency’s transactions in 2022 and 2023.
Prosecutors presented 11 receipts naming these individuals, what they were paid for, and when they were paid within the 11-day period:
+Mary Grace Piattos, who received ₱70,000 for payment of reward (medicines) on Dec. 30, 2022;
+Renan Piatos, ₱110,000 purchase of information on Dec. 27, 2023;
+Nova Santos, ₱85,000 payment of reward (various goods) on Dec. 21, 2022;
+Mico P. Harina, ₱295,000 payment of purchased supplies on Dec. 21, 2023;
+Janice Marie Revilla, ₱70,000 purchase of information on Dec. 28, 2022;
+Patty Ting, who received ₱150,000 purchase of information on Dec. 23, 2023;
+Andy C. Lim, who received ₱50,000 purchase of information on Dec. 27, 2023;
+Alejandro A. Pikit, who received ₱90,000 purchase of information on Dec. 21, 2023;
+Feonna Biong, who received ₱80,000 purchase of information on Dec. 22, 2022;
+Sisfrunio Balsac, who received ₱70,000 purchase of information on Dec. 29, 2022; and
+Gabriel Bisaya, who received ₱70,000 purchase of information on Dec. 27, 2023.
The 11 transactions totaled ₱1,140,000.
The transactions for Renan Piatos, Harina, Ting, Lim, Pikit, and Bisaya were all dated December 2023, a year after the Dec. 21 to 31, 2022 disbursement period for the ₱125-million CF.
Aside from discrepancies in the dates, Wamil conducted his own personal tabulation and found that the actual expenses from the receipts came out to ₱125,150,000. The extra ₱150,000 was not reflected in the accomplishment report.
READ: Lack of compliance, discrepancies in OVP confidential fund documents – state auditor
In a post-trial briefing on Monday, House prosecutor Joel Chua, lead prosecutor for Impeachment Article I, pointed out over 800 of such acknowledgement receipts.
Chua previously said his panel would summon Mary Grace Piattos as a witness in the trial of the Vice President. However, on Monday, he said that personally, he no longer sees the need to bring her in as a witness after the August 3 session.
The Philippine Statistics Authority has said it has no records of a Mary Grace Piattos.
