TENSION IN THE HOUSE Vice President Sara Duterte raises a point during her participation at a Nov. 26 hearing by the House committee on good government and public accountability on the alleged misuse of DepEd and OVP funds. — HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Acknowledgment receipts (ARs) for the confidential fund (CF) expenditures of the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte’s watch were “received” by three “Alice Crescencio” with different signatures and addresses.
This was bared by Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong during the House of Representatives committee on good government and public accountability hearing on the alleged misuse of DepEd funds on Monday.
Article continues after this advertisementAdiong showed two ARs signed by three Alice Crescencio with different signatures and addresses.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO House panel wraps up VP Duterte probe NEWSINFO VP's claim to being target of assassination is ‘fake’ – lawmakers NEWSINFO No PSA records of 400 names in DepEd secret fund's receipts – solonREAD: No PSA records of 400 names in DepEd secret fund’s receipts – solon
The receipts showed that one lives in Pasay City, another in Iligan City, and another one in Lanao del Sur.
Article continues after this advertisement“This name leaves more questions…The name Alice Crescencio is not common… and what are the chances that three individuals have the same names and spelling?” Adiong asked.
Article continues after this advertisement“What are the chances that all are receiving the same confidential funds for different purposes from the same agency, which is DepEd? This is a big coincidence, it is mind-boggling. For me, this is absurd, sorry for the term, but this is a bit absurd,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisementAdiong also pointed out that those who created the ARs seemed to be “uncoordinated” or might have overlooked the fact that they used the same name in signing receipts from different locations.
He also revealed that “Alice Crescencio” was among the names that had no record with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and some ARs had different names with the same signature.
Article continues after this advertisementEarlier, panel chair and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua revealed that 405 of the 677 individuals in the ARs of the DepEd for its CF have no record with the PSA.
Similarly, the PSA attested in a certification issued on November 25 that a certain Mary Grace Piattos had a “negative record” of birth, marriage, and death in the “PSA Civil Registry System database.”
Last November 20 hearing, Adiong presented two ARs — one from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and one from the DepEd — which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin. PSA’s findings showed no records of Kokoy Villamin in its database.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin were among the names that surfaced during the investigation into the alleged misuse of the CFs of the OVP and DepEd.fb777
READ NEXT House solon: Probe into OVP and DepEd budgets under Duterte to... Tulfo eyes Senate probe into hefty surge fees of TNVS EDITORS' PICK Be careful what you wish for After taking Game 1, UP works to prevent history from repeating itself EDITORIAL: Exiting FATF’s ‘gray list’ Regine Velasquez claps back at basher: ‘Did I ask you for your money?’ Siargao island power outage on Day 8; state of calamity pushed Syrians rejoice as Assad flees, ending brutal reign MOST READ Comelec: 27 of 66 Senate bets submit social media registration forms VP Duterte, OVP execs may face plunder raps for secret fund 'misuse' Anthony Jennings’ video promising to 'never again cheat' resurfaces amid scandal Power interruptions in Metro Manila, Calabarzon on Dec 9-14 Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments