House leader questions OVP confidential fund recipients named after food items

House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V raised concerns about the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) confidential funds, noting names on acknowledgment receipts that resemble food items.

These recipients, referred to as 'Team Grocery,' include individuals with surnames like Pampano (fish), Harina (flour), and Bacon, as well as Sala Casim (pork shoulder) and Patty Ting (a type of cake).

Ortega suggested these names might be fictitious and used to obscure fund disbursement, as they lack official records from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The latest list of names is linked to the OVP's P500-million confidential funds, with Ortega stating that many recipients lacked basic birth, marriage, or death records.

Vice President Sara Duterte has denied corruption allegations and questioned the validity of the names presented by Ortega.

The Palace expressed bafflement over these 'Team Grocery' names and stated that the evidence would be left to Congress to decide on its use in any impeachment trial.