Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Jaehwa Bernardo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 960px; display: block;" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178875272884620260907-senate-vp-sara-impeachment-day22-psa-grande-MT3.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align: left;">Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande takes the witness stand during the 22nd day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines on September 7, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><div><strong><em>SOME PAYOUT RECIPIENT NAMES MATCH THOSE ON DEATH CERTIFICATES <br></em></strong></div><p>MANILA<strong>&nbsp;(UPDATE)&nbsp;</strong>&mdash; More than a thousand names listed as recipients of confidential fund payments from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have no records of birth, marriage or death with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), with some names described as &quot;unusual,&quot; a PSA official said Monday.</p><p>PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande made the statement as she offered her testimony during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate, specifically on allegations that Duterte had misused confidential funds under the OVP and DepEd.</p><p>The names of confidential fund recipients, including &quot;Mary Grace Piattos&quot; and &quot;Andy Lim,&quot; have raised questions because of their apparent similarities to names of snacks, other food items and animals, while some appear to be puns. Duterte&#39;s camp, however, has said the names could be aliases used by informants.</p><p>Upon the request of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, the PSA checked whether names on lists of confidential fund recipients have existing records, Grande recounted during her testimony.</p><p>Of the 2,669 names listed as payees, the PSA could not find records for 1,685 in its database, said Grande, who has held various civil registry-related positions and has been in government service for more than 25 years.</p><div><br></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 960px; display: block;" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788754688425Screenshot 2026-09-07 115553.png" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align: left;"><em>Screenshot from ABS-CBN News on YouTube</em></span></span></span></div><p>Of the 1,992 OVP payees, 1,287 had no records of birth, marriage, or death, while 398 of the 677 DepEd payees had no records.</p><p>Grande said she personally conducted a re-verification on some of the names because she found them &quot;unusual.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Nag-run through lang po ako doon sa mga listahan and I find it unusual because unique po &#39;yong names na ito and conducted re-verification using the database,&quot; she explained.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/1/alias-a-fictitious-fake-name-unless-a-real-person-is-behind-it-sotto-1445"><strong>Alias a &#39;fictitious, fake name&#39; unless a real person is behind it &mdash; Sotto<br></strong></a></div><p>Some of the names Grande found unusual include &quot;Beverly Claire Pampano&quot; and &quot;Matthew N. Keso,&quot; whose surnames resemble food names and which had no records in the PSA database.</p><p>Other names presented during the testimony and found to have no records included &quot;Tomas Panda,&quot; &quot;Timon Angelo Pusa&quot; and &quot;Tina Maching,&quot; whose surnames resemble names of animals.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/14/psa-reiterates-it-has-no-records-of-mary-grace-piattos-kokoy-villamin-2046"><strong>READ: PSA reiterates it has no records of &lsquo;Mary Grace Piattos,&rsquo; &lsquo;Kokoy Villamin&rsquo;<br></strong></a></div><p>While some names matched records in the PSA&#39;s database, 37 matched individuals who had death certificates, including &quot;Fortunato Salig,&quot; &quot;Emilio Sagan,&quot; and &quot;Rodolfo Traya.&quot;</p><p>When presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero questioned Grande, particularly about Rodolfo Traya, she clarified that this did not mean the payee was already dead when the payment was made. Rather, it meant that the payee and a person listed in the PSA&#39;s records simply shared the same name.</p><p>It was also found that 25 payees matched the names of minors, some of whom were only one-year old, based on birth certificate records, Grande said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/7/live-updates-vice-president-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-day-22-0955"><strong>LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte&#39;s Impeachment Trial (Day 22)<br></strong></a></div><div><strong>BASED ONLY ON RECORDS</strong></div><p>During cross examination, defense lawyer Justin Nicol Gular sought to stress that Grande was testifying merely based on the PSA&#39;s Civil Registration System (CRS) database, not &quot;as to either the existence or non-existence of those persons.&quot;&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;We are testifying as to the availability ng record and not as to the existence,&quot; Grande said.</p><p>Grande also confirmed that not all births, marriages, and deaths are recorded in the CRS, as it relies on submissions from local civil registry offices.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/7/psa-official-acknowledges-not-all-births-deaths-marriages-registered-1410"><strong>READ: PSA official acknowledges not all births, deaths, marriages registered<br></strong></a></div><p>But she later told Sen. Bam Aquino that as of 2024, checked against the census, around 97 percent of births have been registered. </p><p>&quot;Three percent of the population na lang yung kina-capture natin,&quot; she said, noting that there are programs to record unregistered births.</p><p>Grande also confirmed during cross examination that they only verified names based on the list provided by the House committee. She was also not aware if the names provided were aliases or not.</p><p>When asked whether the PSA kept a &quot;repository of aliases,&quot; Grande said the Civil Registry Service has records of &quot;judicially-approved&quot; aliases.</p><p>&quot;In fact, we stored those that have been registered and annotated doon sa kanilang subject na birth certificate,&quot; she added.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ymjhaP702ik?&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br></div>

<p>It was also found that 25 payees matched the names of minors, some of whom were only one-year old, based on birth certificate records, Grande said.</p>

It was also found that 25 payees matched the names of minors, some of whom were only one-year old, based on birth certificate records, Grande said.

PSA official finds 'unusual names' among confidential fund payees lacking records

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Nation

PSA official finds 'unusual names' among confidential fund payees lacking records

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 07, 2026 12:38 PM PHT

|

Updated September 07, 2026 02:14 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte impeachment case

confidential funds

Philippine Statistics Authority

Marizza Grande

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Haven't received our newsletter?

Check your inbox to verify and confirm your subscription. If you don’t see it, please check your spam or junk folder.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.