Just days before the Senate is set to convene as an impeachment court for Vice President Sara Duterte, a fresh batch of suspicious names tied to the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds has emerged — and this time, even senators’ surnames weren’t spared.
Among them: “Beth Revilla,” “Janice Marie Revilla,” “Diane Maple Lapid,” “John A. Lapid Jr.,” “Clarisse Hontiveros,” “Kristine Applegate Estrada,” and “Denise Tanya Escudero.”
The congressman, who serves as a deputy majority leader in the House, added that the use of such names, many of them playfully or absurdly derivative, suggests a systemic attempt to conceal how confidential funds were disbursed under Duterte’s office.
The timing is difficult to ignore: the Senate — composed of 24 members, including names uncannily similar to those in the list — will soon judge whether Duterte should be removed from office for alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds. The appearance of these “senator-sounding” names in questionable financial records adds a surreal twist to an already politically charged trial.
This is not the first time Ortega has flagged eyebrow-raising entries tied to the OVP’s confidential funds. The initial red flag came last year with the discovery of a signatory named “Mary Grace Piattos” — a name that curiously combines a well-known local café and a popular potato chip brand. At the time, lawmakers expressed concern that the OVP may have fabricated beneficiaries to justify sensitive expenditures.
He also pointed out the emergence of two names bearing the surname “Solon” — Kris Solon and Paul M. Solon — a reference to Sarangani Rep. Steve Chiongbian Solon. “Pambihira, dinadamay pati mga apelyido ng ating esteemed senators. Ganyan po kagarapal ang listahan ng supposed beneficiaries ng OVP confidential funds,” Ortega said
What alarms investigators, according to Ortega, is not merely the humor embedded in the names but the pattern itself. The repetition, the apparent whimsy, and the absence of real-world records are, he argued, reason enough to probe deeper.
“Kung paulit-ulit na gumamit ang OVP ng fictitious names, meron silang obligasyong patunayan na may tunay na tao sa likod ng bawat pangalan. At kung wala, mismong listahan ang magiging ebidensya ng katiwalian sa Senado,” he added.
The names Ortega has previously disclosed also paint a curious portrait of alleged ghost recipients: Honeylet Camille Sy, Feonna Biong, Feonna Villegas, Joel Linangan, Fiona Ranitez, Erwin Q. Ewan, Ellen Magellan, Gary Tanada, Beverly Claire Pampano, Mico Harina, Ralph Josh Bacon, Patty Ting, Sala Casim, Amoy Liu, Fernan Amuy, Joug De Asim, and Xiaome Ocho.
