The House prosecution panel on Monday detailed how civil registry records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) would bolster its impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, presenting evidence of allegedly fictitious, deceased and underage payees on confidential fund liquidation receipts.
At the resumption of the Senate impeachment trial, private prosecutor Atty. Mae Divinagracia presented the data while introducing PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza B. Grande as the prosecution’s tenth witness. Grande’s testimony directly targets Article I of the impeachment complaint, focusing on questionable recipient identities in the confidential fund records of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure leading both offices.
Divinagracia revealed that out of 2,669 alleged payee names checked by the PSA for 2022 and 2023, 1,992 from the OVP and 677 from DepEd, more than half yielded zero civil registry matches. The cross-referencing was requested by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
“Hindi ito pagsulyap sa listahan. Isa-isang paghanap ito sa buong CRS,” Divinagracia emphasized, referring to the PSA’s Civil Registry System.
Unmatched Names, Deceased Payees, and Minors
The prosecution panel said 1,685 of the names searched produced no birth, marriage or death records anywhere in the nationwide database. This group included 1,287 names listed under OVP funds and 398 from DepEd.
“Confidential funds were liquidated in the names of the non-existent, the long dead, and children,” Divinagracia told the court.
Among the findings presented:
- No Civil Registry Record: 1,685 names (1,287 OVP, 398 DepEd) returned zero matches across all civil status categories.
- Single-Match Identified: 152 names yielded a single matching entry out of roughly 100 million PSA records, enabling the issuance of certified copies.
- Deceased Persons: At least 37 matched names belonged to individuals who were already dead when the funds were allegedly received (32 from OVP, 5 from DepEd).
- Minors and Toddlers: At least 25 names matched records of children (20 OVP, 5 DepEd), including three toddlers under three years old.
The prosecution also noted discrepancies in signature authenticity. Divinagracia pointed out that while names on certain acknowledgment receipts matched official marriage certificates in the CRS, the signatures on the receipts did not match the legal records.
Defense counsel Atty. Justin Nicol Gular immediately challenged the scope of the proposed testimony, arguing that the witness was not qualified to speak on signature comparisons or draw legal conclusions.
“We believe the witness is incompetent to testify on such matters,” Gular said, formally entering an objection while reserving the defense’s right to cross-examine.
Divinagracia countered that the prosecution was framing its narrative, noting that complex financial irregularities are proven cumulatively. “In short, Your Honor, we respectfully submit that the testimony of this witness should be taken in conjunction with other pieces of evidence that the prosecution has already adduced,” she said.
Before Grande was taken to the stand, Gular confirmed receipt of the prosecution’s September 2 request for stipulations, agreeing to several items while expressly declining items seven and eleven.
Grande’s testimony follows previous House committee inquiries where high-profile pseudonyms or questionable names such as “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Milky Secuya,” and “Kokoy Villamin” were first revealed to have no civil registry footprint. Grande previously noted during committee hearings that while a missing record does not automatically prove a person never existed, it indicates an absence in the national civil registry.
Taking the stand, Grande confirmed that all verification inquiries undergo a rigorous four-phase screening.
“Ang pag-verify po ng mga requests for civil registry documents ay dumadaan po sa apat na proseso,” Grande testified, before launching into a detailed breakdown of how the agency processes agency requests and queries the central database.
The trial continues as the prosecution seeks to establish that liquidation documents submitted for hundreds of millions in confidential funds were fabricated.