A YouTube channel has been circulating claims that “Mary Grace Piattos,” one of the supposed recipients of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds, was found guilty in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. These claims are false.
Since July 8, a YouTube channel has posted similar videos with the untrue claim. The most recent publicized on Aug. 17 carried the following text as its video headline:
“VP SARA DUTERTE BUKING NA! SENATOR JUDGES MAY KAKAIBANG NADISKUBRE SA IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. (VP SARA EXPOSED! SENATOR JUDGES UNCOVERED SOMETHING UNUSUAL IN THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL).”
Piattos is not on trial before the Senate impeachment court but will serve as witness for the House prosecution panel.
Reports confirmed that the defense team would cross-examine Piattos once presented before the court. She had not appeared in the hearings at the House of Representatives where the identity “Mary Grace Piattos” was flagged as a fictional character carrying the combined names of a local snack brand and a high-end bake shop.
The Philippine Statistics Authority has certified that it has no records of birth, marriage, or death for a Mary Grace Piattos.
The name first surfaced during House quad committee hearings in 2025, and is alleged to be one of the recipients of confidential finds of the OVP and the Department of Education amounting to P612 million.
The controversial name was formally presented in the Senate impeachment court on Aug. 3 through an acknowledgement receipt submitted by the OVP.
Former Commission on Audit-Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) state auditor Roderick Wamil testified before the impeachment court that Piattos received P70,000 as payment for medicines in December 2022.
The post’s thumbnails featured a collage of AI-generated photos of politicians, including Duterte with a teary-eyed expression. Beside her is a collage of House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro, with inset photos of Senator-judges Raffy Tulfo and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., with a shocked look on their faces.
The photo of Duterte crying suggests it is AI-generated. Her hair appears unnaturally smooth and shiny, while her face seems poreless.
The background also reused the AI-generated image of the P125 million confidential funds presented on Aug. 17 by the House prosecution to simulate piled-up cash.
The earliest post carrying the false claim by YouTube channel Jessie Ferrer 7 (created Nov. 4, 2018) has garnered 15,000 views, 496 reactions, and 52 comments. Other videos with the same content also drew significant traction, with seven posts from the past 10 days garnering 133,400 total views.
