‘Xiaome Ocho’: Solon finds more dubious recipients of VP Duterte’s confidential funds
Metro Manila, Philippines - More “Piattos”-linked surnames and a cellphone-inspired name were found among the list of recipients of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds.
The new names were revealed by House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V on Thursday, March 6 as he cited annexes of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
“New documents from the impeachment complaint show that Mary Grace Piattos was not alone. Two other names, seemingly linked to her, have surfaced—’Pia Piatos-Lim’ and ‘Renan Piatos,’” Ortega said in a statement.
Unlike Mary Grace Piattos, Ortega said Pia and Renan have only one “T” in their middle and last names, Piatos, respectively.
They also found the name “Xiaome Ocho”, which the lawmaker said was inspired by a cellphone model from 2018 made by tech company Xiaomi.
“You’ll be torn between laughing and getting furious when you see ‘Xiaome Ocho’ on the list,” Ortega added.
According to the solon, none of the new names have any official records of birth, marriage, or death from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Citing more PSA data, Ortega said only 670 names out of 1,992 linked to the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds had a “most likely match” in PSA records.
Of the total number, 1,322 individuals had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records.
The name “Mary Grace Piattos” first appeared during the House good government and public accountability’s inquiry on the OVP’s supposed mismanagement of its ₱612.5-million confidential funds.
Lawmakers pointed out that the name, a combination of a restaurant and snack brand, were seen in multiple acknowledgement receipts submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit.
Ortega challenged Duterte to present her defense and answers on the dubious new names at the upcoming impeachment trial.
“We will continue reviewing the documents attached to the impeachment complaint to expose more members of this ‘Budol Gang,’” Ortega vowed.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero earlier said the tentative start date for the trials is set on July 30 or with the new set of senators sitting as judges in the 20th Congress.
