Her scheme involved rosters of "beneficiaries" of lawmakers' "livelihood projects."
Coming up with names was never a problem. She copied from newspapers the passers of year-round board exams for teachers, engineers, nurses, doctors and lawyers. Nobody noticed for 13 long years.
Not so with Office of the Vice President and Department of Education.
Hundred-million-peso confidential spending by OVP and DepEd under Sara Duterte in 2022-2023 are wacky.
Nine examples from six hearings of the House committee on good government and public accountability:
(1) "Kokoy Villamin" supposedly received confidential cash from OVP on Sept. 17, 2023. Also from DepEd, no date, but with generic address "Ozamiz."
Signatures and penmanship clearly differ, Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed.
Yet OVP and DepEd irregularly accepted Acknowledgement Receipts (ARs) from an obvious nickname "Kokoy."
(2) Several OVP ARs came from "Mary Grace Piattos." One was for P70,000 reward in medicines on Dec. 30, 2022.
There's an old low-key Piatos clan in Duterte's Davao City. But none first named Mary Grace.
"Obviously concocted," Rep. Romeo Acop noted. "Mary Grace" is a nationwide cafe-bakery chain of 137 outlets. "Piattos" is a famous potato chips brand.
(3) Other OVP ARs were for surnames "Nova," "Oishi," "Tempura." Or mere initials "AAS" and "JOV."
(4) Committee chair Rep. Joel Chua said 158 OVP ARs "were issued on dates when there were no confidential funds. All were dated December 2023, but for disbursements in December 2022."
(5) Ten OVP ARs from different persons in different provinces and on different dates had the same distinguishing ink.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 22, 2024 من The Philippine Star.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 22, 2024 من The Philippine Star.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT PROBLEMS?
We've been presented a number of women's apartments on theater stages recently. In Request Sa Radyo, both Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon wander through a tidily kept apartment in New York or New Jersey, cleaning things on the daily. And in Sandbox Collective's Tiny Beautiful Things, Iza Calzado dwells in a less-tidy home that matches her magulo state of mind while crafting responses to strangers who write in to her inherited advice column.
ALL OF BLUE
Color is the primary language of painting, the essential spirit of the medium. Minimalist artists have long considered this gospel truth: strip a painting to its core, and what remains is color. Yet, color is far from a mere visual phenomenon; it is a conduit for emotion and psychology, evoking ideas, memories, and profound feelings. Among the spectrum of hues, blue holds a particularly captivating allure—a color steeped in history, rarity, and meaning.
A DYNAMIC GROUP OF JOURNALISTS
It was my seventh straight year to serve as chair of the board of judges for the 17th Brightleaf Agriculture Journalism Awards.
When practicality meets playfulness in fashion
On Nov. 11, event curator (and good friend) Anna Amigo invited me to the press launch of Yoya, a clothing line that opened a new branch at Shangri-La Plaza Mall.
ENRIQUE GIL READY TO SHOW UNSEEN SIDES OF HIMSELF IN 'STRANGE FREQUENCIES'
ENRIQUE GIL, THE ACTOR, IS entering into a narrative world, where he also takes on the role of an amateur ghosthunter in \"Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital.\"
Gary V, Regine, Vice lend support to BINI
The \"Nation's Girl Group\" BINI is set to hold a repeat of the \"Grand BINIverse\" concert, which is slated on Feb. 15, 2025 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Sweden's continuing support for Phl
Andreas Carlson, Sweden's minister for infrastructure and housing, and Swedish banker and head of the Wallenberg Sphere Marcus Wallenberg, quietly flew into town last week to reaffirm Sweden's continuing support for the Philippines and to strengthen Sweden's commitment to long-term collaborations, focusing on sustainable development and digitalization.
Foundever® bags Great Place to Work in Phl certification
Foundever®, a global leader in the customer experience (CX) industry, has been officially certified as Great Place to Work® in the Philippines by a global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation.
Auto sales seen speeding past 500k
Philippine vehicle sales may hit a record-high of 500,000 units next year, driven by election-related spending and low interest rates, according to an industry official.
Institutional failure
Never been a fan of congressional investigations, but the current House investigations are making public things that would otherwise only be whispered about.
