House probe: OVP, DepEd CFs received by same man, different signatures

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (top) asks COA audit team leader Atty. Gloria Camora about a certain Kokoy Villamin who received confidential expenditures from OVP and DepEd. Adiong noted that while it seems the same person signed the acknowledgement receipts, there were two different signatures. (Screenshot taken from the House of Representatives livestream)

MANILA, Philippines — Offices under Vice President Sara Duterte are facing another issue as the same person received two different acknowledgment receipts (ARs) for confidential fund expenditures, but showed different handwriting and signature styles.

At the sixth hearing of the House of Representatives committee on good government and public accountability held on Wednesday, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed two confidential fund (CF) ARs — one for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and one for the Department of Education (DepEd) — which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin.

Villamin signed the AR last September 17, 2023, for the OVP’s CF expenditures. The AR for the DepEd’s CF expenses did not show a date, but it was also signed by Villamin, who appears to be from Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental. Villamin’s signature on the OVP AR was longer than on the DepEd AR.

Adiong asked lawyer Gloria Camora, team leader of the Commission on Audit’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, if the person who received the OVP and DepEd’s CF expenses was the same person — to which Camora said they seemed to be the same.

“On the left side, with black ink, that’s from the OVP. On the other side is from DepEd. Please read the DepEd (AR) names,” Adiong said.

“Mr. Chair, it seems to have the same name, Kokoy Villamin,” Camora replied.

“The point I’m trying to drive at, Mr. Chair, is that based on the documents and the acknowledgment receipts, which we do not have any other ways to really affirm whether these persons and individuals who have received the confidential funds were truly alive and truly (actual) persons, we see that this is not believable, the names are the same,” Adiong noted.

Adiong said that the name “Kokoy Villamin” is rare and could not have been two different persons — noting that the “Kokoy” even appears to be a nickname, and not a real first name.

“How unlikely would that be, two persons with the same name, bearing the same spelling, same last name, same first name […] I think it’s very obvious, Mr. Chair, that the signatures on the acknowledgment receipt submitted by the [OVP] are quite different from the acknowledgment receipt received by the [DepEd]. Same names but different signatures,” he observed.

Adiong also asked Camora about the auditing procedure of these transactions, leading the COA officer to admit that two teams checked on these ARs.

According to the lawmaker, having two different auditing teams may have prevented the transaction from being flagged immediately.

“Now, is it true, Mr. Chair, that I’d like to ask Atty. Camora, is it true, Mr. Chair, that the auditor for the OVP and the DepEd are different? Their resident auditors are different, right?” Adiong asked.

“At that time, yes. The resident auditor, definitely they are different,” Camora replied.

“Yes, because if they have only one auditor, I think they would have flagged this immediately, why this person seems to be a single individual, but they have different signatures — exactly the same spelling and exactly the same family name,” Adiong noted.

This is not the first time that OVP was called out for problems regarding its ARs.

During the committee’s previous hearing last November 5, Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop pointed out to COA that several of the ARs were signed by a certain Mary Grace Piattos — which he said bears a first name similar to a coffee shop, while her last name is a famous potato chip brand.

The ARs signed off by Piattos were part of the liquidation reports discussed during the same hearing, referring to the P23.8 million confidential funds covered by 158 receipts.

READ: P1-M reward for information on Mary Grace Piattos – House lawmakers 

Committee chairperson and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua meanwhile stressed on Tuesday that the possibility that OVP rushed and fabricated the ARs for confidential expenses is a bigger problem than the supposed fake identities of the signatories.

According to Chua, the issue with Piattos is just the tip of the iceberg — as the signatory is just one of the names who signed the 158 ARs from OVP.

READ: OVP’s possible fake receipts bigger issue than ‘Piattos’ – Chua

OVP and DepEd transactions are being investigated for alleged irregularities in their fund utilization, especially regarding CFs.

For OVP, COA previously handed out a notice of disallowance on P73.2 million of the office’s P125-million CF for 2022 — an item which several lawmakers said should not be available in the first place, as the original budget crafted during the time of former Vice President Leni Robredo did not have this item.

READ: Sara Duterte’s confidential fund spending raises new, more doubts 

Regarding DepEd, it was revealed that the DepEd under Duterte supposedly made it seem that their CFs were used for a youth training program when the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local government units were the ones that shouldered the expenses.

READ: DepEd under Duterte makes it seem it’s funding AFP training – solon