MANILA (August 12) — From “Miggy Mango” to “Jay Kamote” and “Matthew Keso,” a bizarre roster of food-themed aliases emerged in the Senate impeachment trial as auditors detailed how PHP73.287 million in Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds was disallowed by the Commission on Audit.
The names were among thousands of entries in acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to COA to account for supposed payments to informants and other confidential expenses.
But the bigger issue for auditors was not the unusual names—it was the lack of documents showing that the millions were actually spent for legitimate confidential operations.
COA holds VP accountable
COA supervising auditor Xylene Mae del Campo, a prosecution witness, testified that Duterte, as head of the OVP, is among those held accountable for the questioned disbursements.
The defense has sought to shift responsibility to the OVP’s special disbursing officer, but Del Campo said COA also holds former SDO Gina Acosta and chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey liable.
The first Notice of Disallowance, issued in November 2024, covered PHP73.287 million spent in just 11 days—from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022.
Of that amount, PHP69.787 million consisted of alleged rewards to informants that lacked sufficient supporting documents to establish successful information-gathering or surveillance activities.
Another PHP3.5 million went to tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers, with no proof that the items were intended for confidential operations.
The OVP also failed to provide sales invoices or official receipts for the purchases, Del Campo testified.
“When we issue a Notice of Disallowance, we demand that the funds be returned to the government,” she said.
From Piattos to politicians
The hearing took an unusual turn when prosecutors presented acknowledgment receipts containing names that appeared to mimic food products, celebrities and prominent political families.
Among the entries were payments of PHP50,000 to “Miggy Mango,” PHP200,000 to “Jay Kamote,” and PHP250,000 to “Matthew Keso.”
Other aliases resembled the names of public figures, including figures connected to senators, political families and opposition personalities.
One entry listed “Mary Grace Piattos,” while others included names resembling those of political personalities and members of prominent families.
The receipts, according to the prosecution, were presented as documentation for the purchase of information, supplies and reward payments.
The unusual names added a layer of controversy to an already contentious question: Who were the actual recipients, and what information or services justified the payments?
PHP448.2 million questioned
The PHP73.287 million disallowance is only part of the much larger amount questioned by COA.
The OVP had previously been ordered to return PHP448.287 million in disallowed confidential funds.
This consists of the PHP73.287 million disallowed from the OVP’s PHP125-million confidential fund in December 2022, plus PHP375 million in cash advances released during the first three quarters of 2023.
COA issued another Notice of Disallowance on March 31, 2026, covering the entire PHP375 million.
The COA Commission Proper affirmed the earlier PHP73.287-million disallowance on April 10, 2026. The OVP filed a motion for reconsideration in May, which remains pending.
The questioned spending forms part of the PHP612.5 million in confidential funds cited in Article I of Duterte’s impeachment case.
House prosecutors have accused Duterte of misusing PHP500 million released to the OVP from December 2022 to September 2023, along with another PHP112.5 million released to the Department of Education in 2023, when she was education secretary.
The bigger question
At the center of the controversy is a basic public-accountability issue: Can confidential spending remain confidential when government auditors cannot verify where the money went or why it was paid out?
For ordinary taxpayers, the issue is not simply the colorful aliases appearing in the receipts.
It is whether hundreds of millions of pesos in public funds can be properly accounted for—even when the spending is classified as confidential.
As the impeachment trial continues, that question may prove more consequential than the unusual names on the receipts.
