THE so-called “Budol Gang” allegedly involved in the misuse of Vice President Sara Duterte’s P612.5 million confidential funds appears to be expanding, with the emergence of a new group dubbed as “Team Amoy Asim.”
This was revealed by House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union, who on Sunday disclosed new suspicious names uncovered during Congress’ ongoing review of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) disbursement of confidential funds.
“Sa patuloy na pagsusuri ng Kongreso sa listahan ng mga nakatanggap ng confidential funds sa DepEd, may bagong grupo na naman—ang tinatawag nating ‘Team Amoy Asim,’” Ortega said.
The newly surfaced names include “Amoy Liu,” “Fernan Amuy” and “Joug De Asim.”
These entries add to a growing list of suspicious names allegedly used to justify millions in confidential fund allocations used under the DepEd.
Apart from the now-notorious “Mary Grace Piattos,” other “Budol Gang” members have also been revealed including “Renan Piatos,” “Pia Piatos-Lim,” “Xiaome Ocho,” “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango” and five individuals all named “Dodong” as alleged beneficiaries of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds.
According to Ortega, Liu, Amuy, and De Asim have no birth, marriage, or death records in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) database.
Ortega said the names were submitted by the OVP and DepEd to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Their absence from public records raises serious questions about the legitimacy of the fund disbursements, he said.
“Una, may chichirya, may cellphone, at may prutas. Sumunod ang ‘Dodong Gang.’ Ngayon naman, nandito na ang ‘Team Amoy Asim.’ Kung sa listahan pa lang ay maasim na ang dating ng pekeng mga pangalan, paano pa kaya sa mga transaksyon mismo?” Ortega asked.
Out of 1,992 supposed recipients of confidential funds at OVP, Ortega said 1,322 had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, also revealed earlier that 405 out of the 677 names listed as beneficiaries of DepEd’s confidential funds under Vice President Duterte have no birth records, a clear indication that the names were fabricated.
“Anong klaseng payroll ito? Lahat ng pangalan ay parang gawa-gawa lang. Imposible ang ganito kung sumusunod sa tamang proseso,” Ortega stressed.
Despite repeated requests for an explanation, the Vice President has not provided a clear answer.
When asked about the questionable names during an interview in The Hague, VP Duterte claimed she could not verify the documents due to doubts about the chain of evidence.
Ortega dismissed this as another attempt to evade accountability.
“Kung maayos ang sistema, bakit parang magic na lang na napunta ang pera sa mga pangalan na wala namang pagkatao? Nasaan ang mga dokumento? Nasaan ang mga sagot?” Ortega said. “Kung ito ay hindi panloloko, bakit hindi nila maipaliwanag nang maayos?”
Ortega stressed that the increasing number of bizarre names indicates a seemingly deliberate scheme to fabricate recipients and misuse public funds.
“Hindi ito simpleng kapabayaan. Peke ang mga pangalan sa liquidation. Nasaan ang kanilang pananagutan,” Ortega stated.
With the Senate impeachment trial set to begin in June, Ortega urged Duterte to end the excuses and face the allegations head-on.
He emphasized that the public deserves clear answers, not evasions.
“Kahit anong pagtatago ang gawin, aalingasaw at aalingasaw lahat ng mga ito,” Ortega stressed.
