Alliance of Concerned Teachers
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education’s (DepEd) failure to effectively implement the P5.6 billion school feeding program is a “disservice” to the students from marginalized communities and a “waste of public funds,” the Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT) said on Saturday.
According to the observation of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the department’s P5.6 billion funds for the School Based Feeding Program, some school division offices (SDOs) reported encountering unpleasant experiences under the program.
“It is evident how the previous DepEd administration, under VP Sara’s leadership, mismanaged and underutilized billions of funds appropriated to the agency to implement its programs including the school-based feeding programs,” said ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.
“This is clearly a disservice to our learners from impoverished and marginalized communities who are already deprived of quality food and good nutrition due to their families’ economic status. This is also a betrayal of service and waste of public funds,” Quetea added.
Based on the COA report, 21 SDOs reported delays and non-delivery of food products under the feeding program.
Meanwhile, SDOs in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Northern Mindanao, and Aurora received unsanitary packaging, questionable expiry dates, and pests and molds on breads.
“COA’s audit reveals a stench of negligence, with expired, moldy, and insect-infested food items being delivered to schools at a time when malnutrition is gnawing at our most vulnerable learners, directly affecting their performance in schools,” Quetua said.
Quetua added that the former education secretary “prioritized perpetrating state attacks and serving as mouthpiece of NTF-ELCAC instead of giving due attention to education as agency head.”
COA recently asked the education department to return a P12.3 billion budget in 2023 due to the agency’s “noncompliance with existing laws and regulations” in implementing projects.