Department of Education Spokesperson Michael Poa (File photo)
MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen (16) public high schools in Metro Manila are involved in the recruitment activities of New People’s Army.
Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary and Spokesperson Michael Poa made this revelation on Monday during the deliberations on the proposed budget of DepEd for 2024.
The DepEd official, however, did not identify the names of the institutions engaging in this illegal campaigns.
He gave the information to justify why the department is requesting P150 million confidential fund.
“The threats nowadays, whether it be recruitment or drug-related activities, [are] quite alarming in our schools,” Poa explained in a mix of English and Filipino.
“That’s why we requested for the confidential funds so that we can help in prevention and, of course, in coordination with law enforcement agencies, when it comes to the response to such things,” he said.
“In fact, we have information that 16 public high schools just within Metro Manila are involved in [NPA] recruitment activities,” the spokesperson disclosed.
Without naming the schools, Poa proceeded to talk about the alleged target age bracket of NPAs in employing students.
According to the DepEd official, 12 percent of the rebels who surrendered from 2016 to 2022 were minors, aged 12 to 17 years old.
Poa also said over 5,000 minors were discovered to have been involved in drug-related activities from July 2022 to July 2023.
Of this number, 871 minors were rescued.
Amid this record, Poa admitted DepEd can also “live without” the proposed confidential funds.
However, he stressed the provision of the fund will make their jobs easier.
“As the Vice President has always said, we defer to the wisdom of Congress when it comes to the [approval of] our confidential funds,” he said.
“The reason why we made the request is, of course, [in line] with our mandate of providing accessible and quality basic education,” he added.
DepEd is asking for a P758 billion budget for 2024.
This proposed amount includes P150 million in confidential fund.
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