MANILA — House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union on Thursday asked why Vice President Sara Duterte still cannot address the allegations of fictitious names listed as recipients of confidential funds from her office.

In a press conference on Thursday, Ortega said Duterte's latest remarks on the authenticity of the documents are just "excuses" that can be addressed when Duterte's impeachment trial, expected to begin in late July, starts.  

"Meron pong forum at magkakaroon ng impeachment para masagot lahat ng mga tanong natin. Kasi hanggang ngayon ako rin po hindi ko rin alam ang sagot sa mga tanong na yun," Ortega added. 

(There will be a forum at the impeachment to answer all these questions. Until now, I still don't know how they will address that. 

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Duterte on Wednesday said she cannot answer questions on the matter because she does not know how the lawmakers "handled the chain of evidence."

She added she is unsure if the documents in question are the same ones submitted by the Office of the Vice President.

Ortega said Duterte has not yet given a clear and direct answer despite repeatedly being questioned on the matter.

"Kasi sabi ko nga if that's a procedure, may procedure po tayo with handling confidential intelligence funds, madali pong sagutin talaga yun. Kasi nga kung sumunod ka sa procedure, at diba mas madali po talagang sagutin pag alam mo," he said. 

(As I said, if that's the procedure, we do have a procedure handling confidential and intelligence funds. It will be easy to answer these questions. Because if you followed the procedure, then that will be easy to answer) 

In a statement, Ortega earlier said Duterte's response shows she does not care about the issue "as she continues to shrug it off." 

The lawmaker pointed out how the numerous fictitious names who allegedly signed the receipts like "Jay Kamote" and "Miggy Mango" do not have official documents.

"Walang birth certificate, walang marriage certificate, wala rin death certificate," he said, referring to Philippine Statistics Authority findings. 

(They don't have birth certificates, marriage certificates or death certificates)

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Ortega reminded Duterte to prepare for the impending impeachment trial, while understanding her situation to attend to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is in The Hague, the Netherlands.

“Nung wala pa naman sa The Hague, wala din naman tayong nakuhang sagot. Actually, during the hearings, puro parang ano nga maraming sagutan, maraming drama pero there wasn’t a straight answer na nakuha natin,” he said.

(Even when she wasn't at The Hague, we didn't really get an answer. Actually, during the hearings, there was a lot of back and forth, a lot of drama, but no straight answers) 

The lawmaker is confident they will get answers from Duterte when the impeachment proceedings begin.

House Quad Committee Lead Chairperson Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte said the additional receipts signed by the fictitious names may be used as evidence for the impeachment trial.

The issue of alleged misuse of confidential funds is included in the Articles of Impeachment filed by the House before the Senate.

Duterte has previously denied claims of misuse and allegations of corruption and said her accusers are just politicking.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in February.

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