House Speaks on PSA Data over Confidential Funds Recipients of the OVP and DepEd
PSA – The Philippine Statistics Authority data said over 400 recipients of the Confidential Funds of the OVP and DepEd have no Birth Certificates.
The Confidential Funds spending of the Department of Education (DepEd) under the lead of Vice President Sara Duterte as well as the CIFs spending of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) remain controversial in the Philippines. The House of Representatives’ panel has conducted several hearings over the issue.
However, prior to her recent appearance at the hearing, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte has refused to attend several hearings pertaining the OVP and the DepEd CIFs spending. According to her then, she has already appeared at the first hearing and she was not supposedly asked.
During one of the recent hearings, the chief-of-staff of the OVP, Attorney Zuleika Lopez, was cited for contempt for an alleged “interference”. She was ordered to be detained at the House of Representatives.
However, during the detention of Lopez, she fell ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. She was confined at the hospital for several days. Since then, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte made sure she attends the hearing saying it is for her staff members in the OVP.
Recently, the House gave an update on the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA over some of the recipients of the controversial Confidential Funds of the OVP and DepEd. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the data of the state entity said that 400 out of the 677 names of recipients submitted have no Birth Certificate records.
“Kahapon lumabas na rin ‘yung findings ng PSA pagdating sa 677 na isinumite naming pangalan. Out of 677 na isinumite namin, more than 400 ang lumalabas na walang lumalabas na birth record. More than 200 naman ang lumalabas na maraming kapangalan,” House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chairman Joel Chua said during TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.
Based on the report, Chua has asked PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa to authenticate the Birth Certificate, Marriage, and Death Certificate records of the individuals listed in the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by Vice Pres. Duterte’s office.
The checking of more Confidential Funds recipients of the DepEd and the OVP came after the PSA revealed that “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin”, two (2) of the names in the ARs submitted by the OVP, have no records with the statistics authority.
Currently, there are two (2) impeachment complaints filed against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. The Iglesia ni Cristo or INC is against the impeachment moves versus Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.