MANILAttslot, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte refused to give the House of Representatives any explanation regarding the identities of “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Chippy McDonalds” and other names that appeared in the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) as supposed recipients of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd)’s confidential funds in 2022 and 2023.
At a press conference after hosting a thanksgiving lunch with the media last Wednesday, Duterte said she would not explain the matter as it would “compromise” the intelligence operations of OVP and DepEd as well as other government offices that carry out intelligence work.
free slots“No, I will not explain. I will not give an explanation because it will entail that I explain intelligence operations, which will compromise offices who do intelligence operations. It will really compromise how they work. So, no. No explanation will be given to the House of Representatives,” Duterte said.
The name Mary Grace Piattos was listed as among the recipients of confidential funds from the OVP and DepEd, based on the acknowledgement receipts submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA).
However, during the hearing last week, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that based on its system verification, it has “no records of birth certificate, marriage and death” under the name of Mary Grace Piattos.
Over the weekend, the PSA also informed the House panel that 60 percent or 405 out of 677 names that appeared in the ARs as recipients of the OVP and DepEd’s confidential funds likewise have no record in its database, as these names yielded no birth, marriage or death certificates in the Civil Registry System.
The House Blue Ribbon committee and quad committee had earlier offered P1-million reward to anyone who can confirm that Piattos is a real person or can present him or her before the House.
Asked by the media whether these names were just “code names” of actual persons, Duterte neither confirmed nor denied this, saying that a confirmation might “add to cases that will be filed against me.”
Duterte maintained that she had no hand in the preparation of the ARs, which the OVP and DepEd earlier submitted to the COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Unit as part of the two agencies’ liquidation of their confidential fund expenses in 2022 and 2023.
“I invite you all to join the Philippines in a friendly and neighborly conversation so we can begin a parliamentary dialogue that I hope will also shine a light on the harassment and intimidation that my country, and some of our other neighbors, are receiving at increasingly frequent rates,” Ejercito said.
Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief of the Duterte administration, was among those named in the ICC’s investigation.
Duterte also questioned the authenticity of the ARs that were being scrutinized by members of the House panel, saying that these may not be the same as the ones submitted by the OVP and DepEd to COA.
Duterte said she is not being evasive of the confidential funds issue, as she has always been cooperative with the audit process of COA.
Private security for VPThe Vice President said she is considering to avail herself of the services of private security agencies should the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) push through with its plan of replacing its personnel currently detailed at the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).
Duterte said she had already sent a letter to AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. stating that she will not accept any replacement in her security team even if the AFP pulls out all its current personnel assigned at the VPSPG.
“But should the AFP decide to pull out all its current personnel (assigned at the VPSPG) then we will seek security arrangements outside of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” she added.
Asked to expound on what she meant, Duterte said the OVP is “exploring” the possibility of availing the services of private security agencies. Asked by reporters whether she intends to form a private army, Duterte said it was far from that.
“Initially, I asked my husband and then he said he’ll make arrangements. We do not have an estimate yet (of the cost). We have not requested for proposals yet from service providers,” she said.
Duterte admitted that she would rather hire her own private security personnel as she no longer feels safe with the security being provided by the government.
In response, the Philippine National Police said the Vice President can trust the police officers who would form part of her security detail, as PNP members are ready to sacrifice their lives to ensure her safety.
PNP public information officer Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the mandate of police officers under the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) is clear and that is to ensure that their protectees are safe from threats.
The PNP earlier deployed 25 police officers to the VPSPG in response to the possible recall of Duterte’s security escorts.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation expects to finalize its report and recommendation by early January 2025 regarding Vice President Duterte’s assassination threat against President Marcosttslot, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez. – Mark Ernest Villeza, Emmanuel Tupas
