DAVAO City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte has come to the defense of his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, after a Makati Business Club (MBC) official cited her alleged misuse of confidential funds as an example of corruption posing a national security threat.
In a statement on Tuesday, Duterte lashed out at MBC Executive Director Rafael “Apa” Ongpin, saying he should first experience public governance before commenting on issues such as confidential fund use.
“Before you start barking, maybe try running a city first so you’d understand what governance means, Sir,” Duterte said.
He also accused Ongpin of misunderstanding the nature of confidential and intelligence funds.
“You talk as if confidential and intelligence funds are some kind of secret stash. You clearly don’t know how it works,” Duterte said, explaining that such funds are used for intelligence gathering, security coordination, surveillance, and other confidential operations.
“Every disbursement requires documentation, liquidation, and is subject to COA post-audit. These are not funds that can be used at anyone’s whim,” he added.
Ongpin made the remarks during an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s At the Forefront program, where he discussed corruption as a security risk.
When asked to elaborate, he mentioned the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Vice President’s office from 2022 to 2023.
He cited the case of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and questioned whether the Vice President’s confidential fund spending was truly for security purposes.
“They’re not being spent on national security. She can’t show where the money went,” Ongpin said, adding sarcastically that the funds might have gone to “Mary Grace Piattos.”
Rep. Duterte countered that his sister’s office is not the only government entity receiving confidential funds, noting that the Office of the President, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police also receive similar allocations.
He argued that the Vice President has been unfairly criticized for using the funds to combat communist recruitment.
“Leftist groups hate the VP because of her efforts as DepEd chief to stop NPA recruitment at the grassroots level,” Duterte said.
He also dismissed Ongpin’s remarks, saying, “Before you question the Vice President’s office, maybe look around first. You think only the OVP gets confidential funds?”
The reference to “Mary Grace Piattos” stems from an ongoing controversy involving acknowledgment receipts (ARs) for confidential fund spending by Duterte’s offices. During previous House hearings, lawmakers pointed out questionable ARs bearing names like “Mary Grace Piattos”, similar to a restaurant and potato chip brand, and “Kokoy Villamin,” whose signatures varied across documents and whose names could not be verified in national records.
Other strange names also surfaced in the liquidation reports, including a “Magellan,” several “Fionas,” and one person with the surname “Ewan,” which means “I don’t know” in Filipino.
The issue comes amid heightened scrutiny of government corruption. In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned officials and contractors allegedly profiting from flood control projects.
Subsequent inspections revealed several substandard or “ghost” projects, leading to congressional investigations that implicated lawmakers and contractors alike.