THE latest batch of dubious names discovered in the list of recipients of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) included three “Fionas,” a “Magellan,” one “Honeylet” and a person surnamed “Ewan” which means “I don’t know” in Filipino.
Among the names revealed by La Union Rep. Ortega revealed is “Honeylet Camille Sy,” whose first name is the nickname of Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña, the common-law wife of Vice President Sara Duterte’s father, former President Duterte.
Also in the latest list are a “Feonna Biong,” a “Feonna Villegas,” and one “Fiona Ranitez.”
Fiona is a main character in the “Shrek” movie franchise. She is a princess who becomes an ogre at night.
There is also an “Ellen Magellan,” whose surname seems to have been taken from historical figure Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan; an “Erwin Q. Ewan,” a “Gary Tanada” and a “Joel Linangan,” which, Ortega said, sound like the names of known figures in the entertainment industry.
“The repeated use of fake names is not funny, like those taken from movies and the showbiz industry,” he said in Filipino.
Ortega said that since the issue involves public funds, the OVP’s use of fictitious names in justifying its confidential fund expenditures will be strong evidence against the Vice President “if they can’t show their own evidence to controvert it.”
The Vice President is facing an impeachment complaint that includes alleged misuse of public funds of the OVP and the DepEd. Impeachment trial may start in July.
Ortega said that like all previously flagged entries that the OVP and the DepEd submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA), the names in the new batch did not appear in any official birth, marriage or death record of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Sy, Biong, Villegas, and Linangan were listed as beneficiaries of the OVP’s P500 million confidential funds while Ranitez, Ewan, Magellan and Tanada were listed as beneficiaries of the DepEd’s P112.5 million confidential funds.
The Vice President served as education secretary until June last year.
“Hindi na puwedeng basta manahimik si VP Sara dito (The VP can’t just keep mum on this),” Ortega said.
He said COA, in Joint Circular 2015-01, requires that the real names of confidential fund recipients be kept sealed and locked in a vault if the beneficiaries are involved in sensitive intelligence work.
Under the circular, agencies must maintain sealed logs linking aliases to real, verifiable identities, to prevent fraudulent use of public funds. Failure to abide by the rules may constitute misuse of state resources.
“Sadly or disappointingly, VP Sara doesn’t want to explain. She has been asked several times but she kept her mouth shut. Maybe she just can’t explain the mystery of the `Budol’ gang,” Ortega said.
Last week, Ortega disclosed the names of the members of what he called “Team Grocery,” the beneficiaries of the Vice President’s P500 million confidential funds whose names sound like a grocery list. The group is composed of “Beverly Claire Pampano,” “Mico Harina,” “Patty Ting,” “Ralph Josh Bacon,” and “Sala Casim.”
Ortega had also previously disclosed that the list of the recipients of Duterte’s confidential funds in the DepEd included an “Amoy Liu,” a “Fernan Amuy,” and a “Joug De Asim.”
He has also questioned the inclusion of five “Dodongs,” a “Jay Kamote” and a “Miggy Mango” who were discovered in the list of the recipients after “Mary Grace Piattos,” one “Pia Piatos-Lim” and one “Renan Piatos.”
“Mary Grace” is the name of a popular restaurant while “Piattos” is a known local potato chips snack brand.
Ortega noted that out of the 1,992 supposed recipients of the confidential funds of the OVP, 1,322 have no birth records while 1,456 are without marriage records. A total of 1,593 have no death records.
The Vice President is accused of questionable disbursements under the OVP, worth P254.8 million, and linked to 1,322 fictitious beneficiaries who have no birth records, and another P43.2 million in alleged ghost transactions involving 405 fake names under the confidential funds of the DepEd.
In total, she is accused of alleged illegal use of P612.5 million in confidential funds during her concurrent tenure as Vice President and as former education secretary.
‘HIDING SOMETHING’
Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, a prosecutor in the impending impeachment trial, told the Vice President her absence in the proceedings would give the impression she is hiding something or evading accountability.
“Not showing up in the impeachment trial is a huge thing. It means you are avoiding or hiding something,” he said in Filipino in an interview with radio dzBB.
Defensor said the impeachment trial is an opportunity for the Vice President to publicly defend herself and prove her innocence.
“This impeachment trial does not aim to jail the Vice President but to give her a chance to prove her innocence,” he said.
“If her defense is good and she’s able to convince our 24 senators that she is innocent, this is the perfect opportunity for her to do so in front of live, in front of all the Filipinos,” he added.
