Infant who died in 1965 listed among recipients of OVP confidential funds, PSA witness says

An infant who died in 1965 was among several deceased persons and toddlers listed as recipients of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds in 2023, a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) official testified on Monday.

Testifying on Day 22 of Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial, PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza B. Grande stated that the name "Marlin Sunga"—which appears on an Office of the Vice President (OVP) acknowledgment receipt—matches civil registry records of an infant who died on November 2, 1965.

Under questioning by prosecution counsel Atty. Mae Divinagracia, Grande confirmed that Sunga had been dead for 58 years at the time the transaction was supposedly executed in 2023.

The PSA identified a total of 37 names on OVP acknowledgment receipts that matched records of individuals who had died years prior to the documented transactions.

Among the deceased names cited in court were:

Fortunato Salig: Listed as receiving ₱200,000 on August 2, 2023; PSA records show he died on June 29, 2011.

Rodolfo P. Traya: Listed as receiving ₱120,000 on March 5, 2023; PSA records show he died on May 4, 2021.

Emilio Sagan: Listed as receiving ₱70,000 in 2023; PSA records show he died on July 28, 2015.

Grande also testified that several names on the receipts matched living minors who were far too young to have plausibly received the funds:

Miko Alquizar: Listed as receiving ₱400,000 in March 2023; matched a 1-year-old born in 2022.

Beatrice Cuenca: Listed as receiving ₱400,000; matched a 1-year-old born in 2022.

Mikay delos Reyes: Listed as receiving ₱200,000 in March 2023; matched a 6-year-old born in 2020.

The PSA’s findings reinforce earlier allegations surrounding the authenticity of OVP liquidation documents submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA). Audit records previously drew public scrutiny for containing questionable names, including “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Ralph Josh Bacon,” “Antonio Pagong,” “Timon Andrew Pusa,” and “Xuniso Belat.”

The contested acknowledgment receipts pertain to the OVP’s liquidation of ₱125 million in confidential funds spent over an 11-day period from December 21 to 31, 2022—an average burn rate of over ₱11.36 million per day.

The prosecution is expected to formally submit the PSA's findings as key documentary evidence in the ongoing impeachment trial regarding Duterte’s alleged misuse of public funds.

-Paraluman News