December 9, 2024
MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim of being the target of an assassination threat are “fake,” according to the statements earlier issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police (PNP).
Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre likewise said in a statement on Sunday: “The supposed assassination threats against Vice President Duterte are fake — completely unfounded and baseless.”
“They are as fabricated as the names ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ and ‘Kokoy Villamin,’ which were used to justify the alleged misuse of confidential funds,” he added.
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Acidre was referring to the names listed as the recipients of confidential funds from the Duterte-led Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Acidre pointed out that the threat against Duterte’s life was first heard from the vice president herself. He was referring to Duterte’s remark saying that she had talked to someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez should she be assassinated.
On the other hand, the names “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin,” appeared on acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP and DepEd to the Commission on Audit to account for disbursed confidential funds totaling P612.5 million.
“Investigations found no official records for Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin, with the Philippine Statistics Authority confirming they do not exist in its civil registry, raising suspicions the names were fabricated,” the statement said.
“Mary Grace Piattos, a name that coincidentally combines a popular restaurant and a snack brand, and “Kokoy Villamin,” whose receipt signatures displayed inconsistent handwriting, have come to symbolize alleged misuse of public funds,” it added.
Likewise, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman also dismissed Duterte’s claims.
“Looking at the videos of her threats against the president and her claim that there’s a threat against her life, my interpretation of that is that it’s a call for help. Maybe he is looking for sympathy from his supporters. For me, it’s non-existent. I don’t believe there is a real threat to VP Sara’s life,” Roman said in a mix of English and Filipino.
However, she pointed out that there were credible threats against Marcos.
Last December 2, the PNP said that it had not received any “credible” threat against the life of Duterte.
The following day on December 3, the AFP also said that it had not received any “confirmation” or information on Duterte’s claims.
But both the police and military gave an assurance that they would protect the vice president.