The list of questionable names supposedly used to justify millions in confidential fund disbursements under Vice President Sara Duterte’s office continues to get longer, La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said yesterday.
He cited the inclusion of the so-called “Dodong Gang,” along with individuals named as “Jay Kamote” and “Miggy Mango.”
The latest revelations has deepened concerns over fraudulent confidential fund transactions under the Office of the Vice President, further bolstering the impeachment case against Duterte, he said.
The discovery of more suspicious names highlighted the extent of the alleged fraud, reinforcing what he now called the “Budol Gang” of alleged fake beneficiaries used to justify the misuse of public funds, he noted.
At least five different individuals named “Dodong” appeared as fund recipients — Dodong Alcala, Dodong Bina, Dodong Bunal, Dodong Darong and Dodong S. Barok, he said.
He also flagged certain “Jay Kamote” and “Miggy Mango,” whose names resembled a root crop and a fruit rather than legitimate confidential fund recipients.
“First, there were (names of) junk food and a cell phone. Now, there are fruits and even root crops. Most importantly, they appeared to belong to the ‘Dodong Gang.’ Not only one, not only three, but five ‘Dodong’ are on the list,” he stressed.
According to Ortega, the names followed the earlier exposure of alleged fake recipients as “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Pia Piatos-Lim” and “Renan Piatos,” whose surnames mimicked a snack brand as well as “Xiaome Ocho,” which sounded like a well-known smartphone.
Just like the previously flagged dubious names, “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango” and the five “Dodongs” have no birth, marriage or death records at the Philippine Statistics Authority, he said, adding but they appeared in the OVP’s confidential fund reports.
The PSA’s findings earlier exposed the questionable nature of the confidential fund disbursements under the Vice President.
Of the 1,992 supposed fund recipients, records showed 1,322 had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records.
“What kind of a payroll is that? Imaginary? We cannot pinpoint if those who have received the money are real persons,” he said.
The congressman said that such findings further strengthen the impeachment case against Duterte, which is centered on the questionable use of P612.5 million in confidential fund allocations under the OVP and the Department of Education.
“This is not just negligence. This is a careful plan to embezzle public funds. The names are fake. The liquidation is fake. The accountability is fake,” Ortega said.