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"THOSE NATIONAL HEROES...WOULD BE ROLLING IN THEIR GRAVES,"

House prosecution panel spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said in a press briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 26, that he finds it insulting when Senator-judge Robin Padilla invoked the pseudonyms used by national heroes, to seemingly justify the use of aliases in the documents tied to the confidential funds of Vice President Sara Duterte, during the latter's impeachment trial.

Adiong said that it is a travesty to the memory and legacy of the country's heroes, when names such as "Shane Ngitngit", or "Antonio Pagong" are put into equal footing with them. (Video courtesy of House of Representatives)

READ: https://mb.com.ph/2026/08/27/an-insult-adiong-chides-padilla-for-aligning-confidential-fund-linked-names-with-heroes-aliases

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Transcript
00:00Well, with due respect to my brother in faith and a sitting senator, I think those national heroes whose aliases
00:13were referenced would be probably rolling in their graves after their nom de guerre.
00:22I think these are nom de guerre, were mentioned in the same context as the allegation of misuse of confidential
00:31funds.
00:32To be mentioned with the same breath as Ms. Mirigris Piatos, Mr. Pagong, Ms. Pusa, Ms. Bilat, that's what the
00:47name reflected in the AR.
00:49Kaya nga sinasabi natin, Ms. Bilat, is already a way, a travesty to the memories and to the legacy which
00:59these national heroes have imparted to benefit the Philippinean nation.
01:03To be put them on the equal footing as Miko Harina, as Andy Lim, as Ms. Ngit-ngit, is already
01:16again an insult to the sacrifices they have made for this country.
01:20And their death, the sacrifices they have made, kasi malapit na pong National Heroes Day, the sacrifices they have made
01:31is actually diametrically opposite to the very practice of which these confidential funds were handled.
01:43So hindi po dapat yun ang analogy ang gamitin natin.
01:49And let us be specific about this. This is about auditing problem. This is about whether or not aliases are
01:58necessary in order to maintain confidentiality of a operation that requires safety and security of whoever is involved, not a
02:10test of anybody's patriotism.
02:12So dapat po makontextualize po natin yan.
02:16So dapat po makontextualize po natin yan. Una, ang problema po dito as explicitly explained by Deputy Speaker Janet Garin,
02:23ang usapin po dito ay audit problem.
02:27May problema po ang OVP sa sinubmit nilang mga liquidation. At sinabi po nila, assuming, inasume nga po ito na
02:36Ms. Gina Acosta kasi wala nga po talaga siya doon sa ground.
02:39Kung totoo ba na si Ms. Ngit-ngit ay nakakuha ng 200 million worth of confidential funds, hindi niya masabi.
02:47Ang assumption niya is confidentiality. That's why si Senator Judge Ping Laxon stood up because knowing him, yung background po
02:59niya, nasa investigation po siya,
03:00alam po niya kung paano a confidential or intelligence activity are being conducted.
03:07And after the success of this activity, meron pong disclassification period where yung security access nitong mga aliases are actually
03:19debundled and disclassified for auditing purposes.
03:23Kaya nga po tatanungin natin, if ever granting na tama yung sinabi ni Ms. Gina Acosta ng mga aliases ito,
03:30dapat may pangalan na tunay.
03:33Kasi for the purpose of auditing, hindi ibig sabihin na confidential ito, again, again and again, ay dapat habang buhay
03:44na natin hindi ietatanong.
03:47At hindi just ibig sabihin na confidential in nature na ito, ay mawawalan ng kapangyarihan ang Commission on Audit para
03:59kunin sa babusisiin ang pinaggastusan ng pera ng taong bayan.
04:05That's the mandate of the COA.
04:08No amount of confidential activity can ever weaken the constitutional mandate of the Commission on Audit in finding out what
04:18happened to the money of the people,
04:20especially if this money is being spent or should be handled strictly under a very strict joint circular.
04:28So, klaro po yun.
04:29This is not an issue of patriotism.
04:32This is an issue of audit problem, which now the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education,
04:39when the Vice President sat as the Secretary of this Department, are facing trouble in terms of auditing with COA.
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