The House of Representatives Blue Ribbon and Quad Committee is voluntarily offering a Php 1 million reward to whoever can provide any information on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) ‘fictitious’ signatories.
During a press conference on Monday, Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun replied to Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte’s statement that she will not be attending the Committee’s probe on the confidential funds. In the most recent Quad Committee hearing, the VP was personally approached by the Blue Ribbon Committee Secretariat to give her the invitation. Soon after, the VP stated that she would not be attending the upcoming hearing.
“As the Vice Chairman ng Blue Ribbon Committee, nakakalungkot nga na hindi pupunta ang ating Vice President. Dahil marami siyang dapat ipaliwanag tungkol doon sa nangyayari at siyempre kailangan din umattend yung mga pinatawag ng House,” Khonghun expressed.
“Sa totoo lang, gusto na rin namin matapos yung imbestigasyon ng Blue Ribbon sa komite na ito para makapag file na rin kami ng committee report,” he added.
Additionally, the committee also wants to conduct a probe on those who signed the acknowledgment receipt, stating that they are willing to offer Php 1 million as a reward for whoever can provide any information on the real identity of Mary Grace Piattos—one of the fictitious signatories in the document.
“Aming binibigyang importansya na dumating yung mga ipinatawag natin, lalong-lalo na yung mga kailangan pumirma ng mga acknowledgement receipt. Nag usap-usap kami na boluntaryo na magbibigay kami ng pabuya ng Php 1 million sa kung sino man ang makakapag sabi o makakapagbigay ng impormasyon kung sino si Mary Grace Piattos,” he said.
The lawmaker highlighted the importance of identifying the real identities of those who were part of the anomaly that happened within the office. Although Duterte said that the acknowledgment receipts shown during the hearing were fake, Khongkun said that those documents were provided by the Commission on Audit.
“Sinabi ng Commission on Audit na ito yung mga ipinasang acknowledgement receipt ng OVP. So, papano mo sasabihin na ito ay peke. Ang pondo ay nagastos ng 11 days. Mas mabilis pa (kay Janet Napoles). Sabi nga natin si Napoles 60 days niya (bago) naubos yung pondo, ito (VP Sara), 11 days lang,” the lawmaker stressed.
“Importante na yung taong tumanggap ng pondo, pumirma sa acknowledgement receipt, ay makausap at umattend ng hearing. Isa na nga dito si Mary Grace Piattos. Kaya nga nag usap-usap kami ng mga miyembro ng Quad tyaka ng Blue Ribbon, para mag come up ng Php 1 million, para ibigay sa kung sino man ang may alam sa kinaroroonan ni Mary Grace Piattos,” he added.
Earlier in November, the House Committee proceeded with its probe on the misuse of the OVP and the Department of Education’s (DepEd) confidential funds. During their session, Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop pointed out that one of the signatories from the OVP’s receipts dated December 30, 2022, was signed by “Mary Grace Piattos.”
The name quickly became a trend on social media, prompting several memes to surface.
