Philippine VP Duterte’s US$10 million snack-name scandal: a recipe for impeachment?

Complaints over confidential funds given to individuals seemingly using aliases derived from food brands fuel calls for transparency

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Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio holds a press conference in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, on December 11. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:00am, 26 Dec 2024Updated: 2:04pm, 26 Dec 2024

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is facing three impeachment complaints over her refusal to account for over US$10 million in “confidential funds” her offices distributed to unknown entities, including those seemingly using aliases derived from popular snack and restaurant brands.

Observers say the scandal reflects broader concerns over the growing use of and lack of oversight on such government expenditures.

The impeachment complaints, lodged this month by civic groups, left-wing activists, priests and lawyers, accuse Duterte-Carpio of refusing to account for the substantial sums handed out by her offices to recipients bearing dubious identities.

State auditors reported last month that, between 2022 and 2023, the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the Department of Education, which Duterte-Carpio led until resigning from the role in June, spent 612.5 million Philippine pesos (US$10.5 million) in confidential funds.

Both offices issued substantial checks to hundreds of people, later producing as proof acknowledgement receipts (ARs) signed by individuals using names that appear to be related to famous snacks and restaurant chains.

Congressional investigators highlighted how some signatories’ purported monikers appeared to be cobbled together from these brand names. One that transfixed the public – “Mary Grace (a popular cafe) Piattos (a potato crisp brand)” – was given 70,000 pesos for medicines in December 2022. Several others, such as “Chippy (corn chips) McDonald” and “Carlos Miguel Oishi (the surname, a famous snack brand),” also raised eyebrows.