The core issue surrounding the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds is not the use of aliases for informants, but the complete lack of proof verifying how P500 million was spent, House prosecution adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers clarified.
Speaking at a press conference, the former Surigao del Norte representative explained that using fictitious names on acknowledgment receipts is permissible to protect the lives of informants. However, he emphasized that government agencies must still present supporting documentation during audits to substantiate the spending.
“Ang paggamit ng alias ay hindi naman ipinagbabawal. Pwede mong gamitin ‘yan. Di ba kung magiging mapanganib sa buhay ng informant o ng informer yung kanyang pagbibigay ng information, eh dapat lamang na itago siya sa ibang pangalan di ba?” Barbers said.
“Pwedeng itago ang katauhan o yung personality o yung totoong pangalan, pero hindi pwedeng itago kung saan mo ginastos yan, di ba? Yun nga ang striking difference between the two,” he added.
Barbers noted that standard Commission on Audit (COA) procedures require agencies to disclose the true identities of recipients, the intelligence provided and the practical outcomes achieved through those funds.
He pointed out that OVP witnesses failed to produce such details when questioned by prosecutors regarding individuals listed on receipts, such as the widely questioned recipient named “Mary Grace Piattos.”
“Sa ngayon wala, kaya nga na-flag yan ng COA. So, sa aking opinion ay pwede kang gumamit pero may syempre, limitation para lang pagtakpan ang katauhan ng isang witness o ng isang informer. Pero pag in-audit na yung pondo kung saan mo ginastos, eh meron ding report na dapat kaakibat yan,” Barbers said.
Lending support to the prosecution’s stance, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union likened confidential fund liquidations to local government unit (LGU) and congressional budget proposals, which require strict justification and scrutiny to pass COA accounting rules. Ortega stressed that every public peso must be thoroughly accounted for through established, rigorous oversight procedures.