Ridon: If ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ does not exist, who got the money?

Rep. Terry Ridon —File photo by Grig C. Montegrande | INQUIRER MANILA, Philippines — The identities of “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Milky Secuya,” and other individuals listed as the supposed recipients of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President will be among the key issues when the House prosecution begins presenting evidence on the impeachment article accusing Vice President Sara Duterte of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds and committing a betrayal of public trust. Rep. Terry L. Ridon made that statement during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City. The defense, he added, should explain who actually received confidential funds if the supposed recipients would turn out to be fictitious. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Let NBI chief testify on VP Duterte’s threats vs Marcos – Ridon “We will talk about Mary Grace Piattos [at the trial]. Who is Mary Grace Piattos, and is Mary Grace Piattos a real person?” Ridon said in Filipino. “If Mary Grace Piattos is not a real person, then who got the money for which Mary Grace Piattos signed?” he added. Alleged misuse of OVP confidential funds The prosecution is scheduled to begin presenting evidence on the confidential funds charge on July 22. It has already completed its presentation on the impeachment article involving Duterte’s alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. Article continues after this advertisement The impeachment article accuses Duterte of misusing a total of P612.5 million in confidential funds — P125 million spent by the OVP in the final 11 days of 2022, P375 million in OVP confidential funds in 2023, and P112.5 million in confidential funds spent by the Department of Education in 2023 while she was concurrently its secretary. Ridon said the prosecution would present records from the Philippine Statistics Authority showing that no birth, marriage, or death records could be found for Piattos, Milky Secuya, and several other names listed as recipients of confidential funds released by the OVP. Article continues after this advertisement “We will talk about the PSA report that nobody was born, died, or was married named Mary Grace Piattos, Milky Secuya, and other names in the list of recipients of confidential funds of [the OVP],” he said. READ: NBI chief will be last witness in VP Duterte threat issue July 21 He said the prosecution would also call a National Bureau of Investigation handwriting expert to testify on similarities among signatures appearing on acknowledgment receipts bearing different recipients’ names. The prosecution also plans to present the findings of the Commission on Audit, including the notice of disallowance covering P73.287 million in confidential expenses incurred by the OVP in 2022. Ridon said the disallowance had already become final at the level of the Commission on Audit Proper. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. He added that the prosecution’s evidence would ultimately allow the Senate impeachment court to determine whether the confidential funds were lawfully spent or whether their use constituted betrayal of public trust. /atm