Spokespersons for the House prosecution team emphasized that the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte centers on the alleged misuse of public funds, dismissing attempts to justify dubious names found on disbursement documents as historical practice.
The prosecution panel made the clarification after Senator-Judge Robin Padilla referenced Filipino revolutionaries during the trial, noting that national heroes used aliases to protect their identities during the Spanish colonial period. Padilla’s remarks came amid public criticism over unusual names listed on acknowledgment receipts for the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds, including “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Pusa,” “Pagong” and “Ngitngit.”
Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong rejected the comparison to historic revolutionaries during a press briefing.
“I think those national heroes whose aliases were referenced would probably be rolling in their graves after their nom de guerre were mentioned in the same context as the allegation of misuse of confidential funds,” Adiong said.
Adiong explained that state auditors can verify real identities in confidential acknowledgment receipts without exposing them to the public. He stressed that confidential operations do not exempt agencies from constitutional oversight.
“This is an auditing problem,” Adiong said. “No amount of confidential activity can ever weaken the constitutional mandate of the Commission on Audit in finding out what happened to the money of the people.”
Adiong added that the central matter involves audit discrepancies facing the OVP and the Department of Education under Duterte’s tenure as secretary, rather than patriotic acts.
Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega highlighted the distinction between historical pseudonyms and questionable disbursement records.
“Yung mga bayani po natin, yung ating mga hero, e nagkaroon po at gumamit po at binansagan po ng mga ganitong pangalan dahil pinaglalaban po nila yung bansa,” Ortega stressed, adding that aliases were used for national liberation rather than to mislead or misuse public funds.
Deputy Speaker Janette Garin noted that while legitimate undercover operations may require protecting informant identities, using pseudonyms does not remove the need for a clear operational outcome and audit trail.
The Senate Impeachment Court continues to examine the validity of the acknowledgment receipts submitted to justify the disbursement of the OVP’s confidential funds.