Chel Diokno rebuffs 'trolls': I'm not 'Jose Diokno' named as OVP confi fund recipient

House prosecutor and Akbayan party-list Rep. Rep. Chel Diokno on Tuesday hit back at “trolls” linking him to the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds, stressing that he is not the “Jose Diokno Jr.” named in an acknowledgment receipt presented during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

In a Facebook post, Diokno said his detractors have long used the issue against him following the disclosure of the names of purported recipients of the OVP’s confidential funds.

“Matagal na nilang ginagamit ang isyung ito para sirain ang pangalan ko. Linawin ko lang: Jose Manuel Diokno ang pangalan ko, hindi Jose Diokno, Jr.,” he said.

(They have been using this issue for a long time to tarnish my name. Let me clarify: my name is Jose Manuel Diokno, not Jose Diokno Jr.)

“Kailanman hindi ako nakatanggap ng confidential funds. At kailanman hindi ako naging ahente ng Bise Presidente,” Diokno added.

(I have never received confidential funds. And I have never been an agent of the Vice President.)

During Day 14 of Duterte’s impeachment trial, Commission on Audit (COA) state auditor Xylene del Campo testified on the grounds for her office’s issuance of a notice of disallowance covering the OVP’s confidential fund disbursements.

Del Campo is an auditor with COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO), which audits the confidential and intelligence funds of government agencies.

She testified that OVP documents failed to adequately support payments for reward money and lacked proper documentation for confidential supply expenses.

She said the OVP submitted acknowledgment receipts signed by purported recipients, including one signed by a “Jose Diokno Jr.” for ₱150,000.

The lawmaker took a swipe at “trolls” insisting that he was the person named in the receipt, saying their claim would effectively raise questions about Duterte’s use of confidential funds.

“Pero sige, pagbigyan natin ang mga trolls. Kung sinasabi niyong nakatanggap ako ng confidential funds, eh 'di inamin n'yo na rin na mali ang paggastos ni VP Sara dito 😜,” Diokno said.

(But fine, let’s play along with the trolls. If you're saying I received confidential funds, then you've basically admitted VP Sara misspent them 😜.)

COA also presented acknowledgment receipts bearing names resembling root crops, fruits and food items, including “Jay Kamote,” “Kristine Applegate” and “Matthew N. Keso.”

Del Campo also identified receipts purportedly signed by recipients bearing the same surnames as some senator-judges, including “Escudero,” “Hontiveros,” “Estrada” and “Lapid.”

The COA auditor is a prosecution witness for Article I of the impeachment case against Duterte, which accuses the Vice President of impeachable offenses stemming from the alleged systematic misappropriation and irregular liquidation of ₱500 million in confidential funds released to the OVP and ₱112.5 million released to the Department of Education during her tenure as Education secretary. — MCG, GMA News