A deeper probe into Vice President Sara Duterte’s misuse of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) from December 2022 to September 2023 has revealed more dubious recipients.
“Xiaome Ocho,” obviously taken from the name of a cellphone model, joins “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Jay Kamote”, “Miggy Mango” and more than a thousand others found to be without records of birth, marriage or death at the Philippine Statistics Authority, but appeared as recipients of Duterte’s CIF.
“These revelations prompt us to urge the audit of ALL confidential and intelligence funds,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay. “With all these questionable recipients, who is to say if Sara Duterte is not the only one who does this?” she asked. “Even the Office of the President and every other CIF-using agency are suspects in this anomalous practice.”
“Sara Duterte has invoked national security to justify her refusal to disclose details about her use of her CIF,” said Palabay. “And yet national security has always been used as a convenient excuse by corrupt politicians to justify their misuse of public funds,” she added. “They have turned the practice of jeopardizing the lives, liberty and security of activists and ordinary folk into a very lucrative money-making scheme.”
“Enough is enough,” declared Palabay. “The CIF is both pork barrel and war chest to corrupt politicians. It must be abolished.”
