The Commission on Audit (COA) must verify the real identities of intelligence assets even when operational aliases are used to receive reward money, Senator Panfilo Lacson emphasized Sunday.
Addressing concerns raised by private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan over acknowledgment receipts (ARs) signed using codenames, Lacson clarified that using pseudonyms in covert operations is standard practice, provided proper protocols are strictly followed.
“Magandang tanong yun, ano. Kasi kung ang acknowledgement receipt, dapat yan ay nasa sealed envelope yan. Ang dapat nakapirma sa ibabaw ng pangalan ay pangalan nung tunay na tao. Kasi di ka puwedeng gumamit ng tunay na pangalan kapag gumamit ka ng ‘asset’ o ng informant,” Lacson said over a radio interview.
“Talagang authorized, walang problema sa paggamit ng alias. Pero ang aking pinpo-point out ko nung ako’y nag interject…Dapat yun tinignan ng COA kung sino ba itong si Mary Grace Piattos, sino ba itong si Katy Ting, si Andy Lim. Kung meron diyang nakatalagang totoong tao, walang problema,” he added.
The senator explained that actual identities should be affixed to receipts stored inside sealed envelopes within agency vaults, accessible to Special Disbursement Officers for COA inspection. “Kasi kapag dumating na ang oras na i-o-audit na ng COA yan, ready sila dapat na ipakita, buksan yung sealed envelope,” he noted.
Lacson stated this will guide his questioning during Day 14 of the Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment trial, where 111 ARs tied to confidential fund use are set to be unsealed.
Drawing from his extensive intelligence background, Lacson stressed that verifying operational spending involves rigorous processes rather than basic paperwork checks.
“At yung pagsi-seal ng envelope, may mga affidavit pa yan, hindi ganon ka-sinple yan, may proseso yan. Alam ko ito kasi nanggaling naman ako sa intelligence eh…Meron kang project proposal, tapos lahat ng report nandoon, lahat ng classified information nandoon. Ito ay hindi puwede isa-publiko, pero kung mag iinspeksiton ang COA, dapat naka ready yung SDO na buksan yung vault, at ipakita sa COA,” Lacson explained.
He argued that lawmakers should have focused on state auditors rather than issuing subpoenas to fictitious names. “Dapat ang tanungin nila sa COA eh sino ba si Mary Grace Piattos sa tunay na buhay. Dapat alam ng COA yan pero hindi nila in-inspect yung vault. Eh paano malalaman ng COA yan? Eh, kasi nga paper audit nga lamang,” he said, pointing out that COA could have invoked its 2020 Joint Memorandum Circular to execute a full fraud audit.