Day 22 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial focused on prosecution efforts to verify the identities of recipients listed in acknowledgment receipts for ₱612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande took the stand as a prosecution witness on Monday, September 7. She presented findings from the agency’s cross-check of 2,669 payees against civil registry databases, testifying that 1,685 names—approximately 63 percent—had no matching birth, marriage, or death records.
Specifically, 1,287 out of 1,992 OVP recipients and 398 out of 677 DepEd recipients yielded no matches.
Grande further noted that 34 names matched individuals who had died prior to the reported disbursements, while 25 matched records belonging to minors, including infants around one year old at the time of release. She clarified, however, that the PSA’s verification only speaks to the existence of civil registry files, not whether specific individuals actually received payments.
Grande observed that the high volume of unmatched records was exceptional, noting standard walk-in verification requests yield an unmatched rate of roughly 7% to 8%, while large bulk requests historically peaked around 38%.
During cross-examination, the defense underscored the boundaries of the PSA’s process. Grande conceded that the agency relies on local civil registrars and foreign posts rather than field investigations, noting civil registration is not entirely universal.
”We are testifying as to the availability of the record and not as to the existence,” Grande said.
A pivotal shift occurred when defense attorney Justin Nicol Gular, answering inquiries from Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros, acknowledged that the disputed names were pseudonymic identities.
”That is classified information, but these are in fact aliases, your honor, for the consideration of this court,” Gular said.
Prosecutor Atty. Mae Divinagracia challenged the disclosure, contending that the defense failed to give timely notice of this stance after the prosecution built its case around the premise that the listed names represented actual individuals.
”With all due respect, it’s already a tad too late for the defense, to be adopting the position that these are aliases,” Divinagracia said.
”It’s not only the defense who has the right to due process, even the prosecution is entitled to due process. We are entitled to know what we are working on, the theories of their case… We’re already at the 11th hour, and there’s still none. What is their position?” she added.
Lead defense counsel Atty. Sheila Sison maintained that the defense team is under no obligation to present its evidence at this stage, as the burden of proof rests entirely with the prosecution.
”This is not yet the time for the defense to present its evidence, or whether we will even present evidence if the proper time comes,” Sison said.
In procedural updates, lead prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro announced that the prosecution panel would adjust its presentation order, moving the article on unexplained wealth ahead of bribery allegations while clarifying that no articles were being dropped.
The prosecution also withdrew security officials Colonels Raymund Dante Lachica and Dennis Nolasco from its witness list, deeming its existing evidence on fund misuse sufficient.
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, presiding officer of the impeachment court, noted that the defense or the court could still call the officers if necessary.
Senator Raffy Tulfo separately questioned handwriting similarities across multiple receipts, noting that while aliases might occur in covert operations, uniform signatures raise doubts.
Trial proceedings resume Tuesday, September 8, featuring PNP document examiner Police Major Jovelyn Magay, who will testify on handwriting consistency across the receipts.
Additional scheduled witnesses include former DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda and COA Assistant Commissioner Bresilio Sabaldan.