Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin are non-existent.
Mary Grace Piattos, Kokoy Villamin, and many others received amounts from the confidential funds but have no records in the PSA.
In 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that there are no “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin” in their database. This has led the PSA to cross-check 677 names for any records of birth, marriage, or death certificates, as these names were indicated in documents that received a certain amount of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President.
The committee questioned the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) to justify their use of PHP 612.5 million in confidential funds.
Lawmakers spotted inconsistencies in the receipts, such as wrong or missing dates, fake names, and similar ink and handwriting, raising suspicions that they may have been fabricated.
Recently, as the hearing related to the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, PSA reiterated that it has no records of the alleged confidential funds recipients. There are no “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin” in the record, but it found a record for “Irene Tan,” whom it described as a common name.
“Doon sa binanggit niyong pangalan ay walang record ng birth, marriage, or death except doon sa isa, don kay Irene Tan, which is a common name ito at base sa verification namin, may match na records ng 144 na colby, 89 na certificate of marriage, 16 na certificate of death,” said Marizza Grande, the assistant national statistician of the PSA.
Earlier, several lawmakers offered a PHP 1 million reward to anyone who could help identify “Mary Grace Piattos,” believing the receipt was bogus and the signee a fictitious name possibly inspired by a restaurant and a snack.
Meanwhile, the vice president’s camp said the name may have been used as a pseudonym.
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