ANN/THE STAR – Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is facing three impeachment complaints over her refusal to account for over USD10 million in “confidential funds” her offices distributed to unknown entities, including those seemingly using aliases derived from popular snack and restaurant brands.
Observers said the scandal reflects broader concerns over the growing use of and lack of oversight on such government expenditures.
The impeachment complaints, lodged this month by civic groups, left-wing activists and lawyers, accuse Duterte-Carpio of refusing to account for the substantial sums handed out by her offices to recipients bearing dubious identities.
State auditors reported last month that, between 2022 and 2023, the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the Department of Education, which Duterte-Carpio led until resigning from the role in June, spent PHP612.5 million (USD10.5 million) in confidential funds.
Both offices issued substantial checks to hundreds of people, later producing as proof acknowledgement receipts (ARs) signed by individuals using names that appear to be related to famous snacks and restaurant chains.
Congressional investigators highlighted how some signatories’ purported monikers appeared to be cobbled together from these brand names. One that transfixed the public – “Mary Grace (a popular cafe) Piattos (a potato crisp brand)” – was given PHP70,000 for medicines in December 2022. Several others, such as “Chippy (corn chips) McDonald” and “Carlos Miguel Oishi (the surname, a famous snack brand)”, also raised eyebrows.
The Philippine Statistics Authority told investigating congressmen it found zero records supporting the existence of a person named Mary Grace Piattos, adding that out of the 677 ARs provided, 405 of the signatories had no proof of existence or birth certificates.
