PSA: 1,322 OVP confidential fund recipients lack birth records

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed that 1,322 out of 1,992 individuals listed as recipients of the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) confidential funds lack birth records.

This figure represents nearly two-thirds of the total individuals listed as recipients of the P500 million confidential funds from the OVP.

Lawmakers have described this situation as "systematic fraud," suggesting that the acknowledgment receipts may have been doctored and calling for an investigation.

The verification process also showed that 1,456 individuals lacked marriage records and 1,593 had no death records.

Only 670 names had possible matches in civil registry records for birth.

These numbers are based on acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (CoA) to justify confidential fund expenditures from late 2022 to the third quarter of 2023.

Additionally, the PSA reported that 60% of individuals who allegedly received secret fund payments from the Department of Education (DepEd) also have no records in their database.