Authorities Asked to Verify Names in Confidential Funds
Government agencies are currently in a stronger position to confirm the identities of individuals named “Chel Diokno” and “Marian Rivera” who reportedly appear in documents related to the disbursement of confidential and intelligence funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP). This verification effort, officials say, is crucial to determine whether these names correspond to actual people or are mistakenly linked to well-known public figures.
House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur representative explained on Sunday, May 25, that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are the key agencies tasked with verifying this information. The exact 4-word keyphrase “names in confidential funds” is central to this ongoing inquiry.
The request aims to clarify if the names belong to real individuals separate from the lawyer-politician Chel Diokno and the actress Marian Rivera, both widely recognized in the Philippines. Viral reports have surfaced claiming their alleged inclusion in questionable acknowledgment receipts (ARs) linked to Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds.
Discrepancies Found in Acknowledgment Receipts
Vice President Duterte faced impeachment last February, with one of the major accusations involving the alleged misuse of confidential funds amounting to P612.5 million. However, many ARs were not reviewed during the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s initial investigation.
The representative noted, “In fact, just a portion of the [ARs] were at that time available to the good government [panel] that we were able to see yung discrepancies.” The documents included suspicious entries, such as identical names appearing in different locations and mismatched signatures.
“Iyung mga pirma, mga pangalan na pagkapare-pareho pero makakaibang lugar, may mga pirma na hindi makakapareho pero isa ‘yung pangalan,” he added, emphasizing the inconsistencies found.
Continued Investigation and Agency Assistance
The new findings prompted authorities to seek further help from PSA and NBI since many ARs remained unexamined during the initial probe. “As to the new revelations, kaya nga namin hiningi yung assistance ng PSA at NBI kasi marami pang [ARs] at that time na hindi pa natin na nakitita,” the representative said.
This step is vital to ensure transparency and to establish whether these names relate to actual recipients or are errors linked to public personalities. The agencies’ verification will help the public understand who truly received the confidential funds and whether any misuse occurred.
For more news and updates on names in confidential funds, visit Filipinokami.com.