CAGAYAN de Oro City — How could names matching people who had already died, as well as infants, appear as recipients in documents used to account for the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds?

That question took center stage in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday after a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) witness testified that 37 names in OVP acknowledgment receipts matched people who were already dead when the payments were supposedly made.

On Day 22 of the trial, PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza B. Grande presented records matching several names appearing in OVP receipts to deceased individuals and children.

One of the cases involved “Marlin Sunga.” The name appeared on an OVP acknowledgment receipt, while PSA records matched it to an infant who died on Nov. 2, 1965, Grande testified.

Prosecution counsel Atty. Mae Divinagracia asked Grande how long Sunga had been dead by 2023.

Grande answered: 61 years.

The reported figure, however, should be reconciled with the dates in the PSA records and the date of the alleged payment. A 1965 death and a 2023 payment would indicate roughly 58 years, depending on the exact dates.

Infants also appear in records

Sunga was not the only name that raised questions.

Grande testified that “Miko Alquizar,” listed as receiving ₱400,000 from OVP confidential funds in March 2023, matched a one-year-old born in 2022 in PSA records.

Another name, “Beatrice Cuenca,” appeared on an OVP acknowledgment receipt for ₱400,000 and matched another one-year-old born in 2022.

“Mikay delos Reyes,” listed as receiving ₱200,000 in March 2023, matched a six-year-old born in 2020, Grande said.

The PSA matches do not, by themselves, establish who actually received the money or whether the names were deliberately falsified. But they raise questions about the identities used to document the disbursements.

More deceased names identified

The PSA also matched “Fortunato Salig,” listed on an OVP acknowledgment receipt dated Aug. 2, 2023 for ₱200,000, to a man who died on June 29, 2011.

Grande said Salig’s death certificate cited uncal herniation associated with cerebrovascular disease, with community-acquired pneumonia also listed.

Another receipt, dated March 5, 2023, listed “Rodolfo P. Traya” as receiving ₱120,000. PSA records showed that a man with that name had died on May 4, 2021, Grande testified.

“Emilio Sagan,” whose name appeared in a 2023 OVP acknowledgment receipt for ₱70,000, also matched a person who died on July 28, 2015, according to Grande.

These were among the 37 names Grande said the PSA matched to people who had already died when the payments were supposedly made.

OVP side

The OVP has maintained that its confidential fund disbursements were properly documented and used for legitimate intelligence and security activities.

Duterte’s camp has disputed allegations of misuse, leaving the authenticity of the questioned acknowledgment receipts, the identities of the actual recipients and the circumstances surrounding the payments for the impeachment proceedings to determine.

Questions over ₱125 million

The PSA testimony adds to scrutiny of the OVP’s use of confidential funds.

The Commission on Audit had examined OVP acknowledgment receipts containing unusual recipient names, including “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Ralph Josh Bacon,” “Antonio Pagong,” “Timon Andrew Pusa” and “Xuniso Belat.”

The questioned documents relate to ₱125 million in confidential funds reportedly disbursed by the OVP over 11 days from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022—an average of more than ₱11.36 million a day during the Christmas period.

The latest testimony puts a basic accountability question at the center of the proceedings:

Were the names appearing on the receipts the actual people who received the money—and what records can establish where the funds ultimately went?

Those questions remain for the impeachment court to weigh as it examines the evidence against Duterte.