Explain alleged fake recipients of confidential funds, VP told

THE PALACE on Monday urged Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio to address an alleged list of fake recipients of confidential funds to dispel accusations of corruption at her office and the Department of Education.

“We believe that VP Sara has the obligation to address this matter and provide clarification regarding these findings,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Clarissa A. Castro said at a news briefing in mixed English and Filipino.

“There have been numerous circulating claims about fake receipts allegedly issued by Vice President Sara’s office. She says we need more transparency, but it would be better for her to explain these to the public.”

House Deputy Leader and La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V on Sunday said new strange names, such as “Joug de Asim” and “Fernan Amuy,” were found on receipts used to justify the DepEd’s use of confidential fund, under Ms. Duterte’s term. This is on top of other alleged made-up names, related to junk foods and fruits, that previously surfaced.

The Office of the Vice President told BusinessWorld in a Viber message that Ms. Castro’s statement has been relayed to her but has yet to issue a response.

Ms. Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives in early February over alleged misuse of secret funds, unexplained wealth, and acts of destabilization and plotting the assassination of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and his family. Ms. Duterte has denied any wrongdoing.

She is expected to be tried by the Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court in July.

Meanwhile, Ms. Castro also dispelled claims of the Duterte family being under threat amid former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity.

At a rally of Duterte supporters in the Netherlands, the Vice-President said her father could suffer the same fate as former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino, Jr., implying that he could get assassinated if he were to return to the Philippines.

“He really wants to come home. I told him, ‘Pa, if you go home, that will be the end of your life. You’ll be like Ninoy Aquino, Jr.,” Ms. Duterte said at the rally in Filipino.

Historians have cited Mr. Aquino’s death in 1983 as a turning point in the dictatorial rule of the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr., leading to his ouster by a popular street uprising less than three years later. The elder Marcos was the father of the sitting president.

Mr. Aquino was assassinated moments after deplaning from Manila’s international airport after years of exile in the US.

“As a matter of fact, even the alleged threats against VP Sara have not yet been presented to the National Bureau of Investigation or the Philippine National Police, so where are these claims coming from?” Ms. Castro said.

“We need materials and evidence before making such statements. There is no truth to this.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez