VP SARA DUTERTE composite image from Inquirer file photos
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly made it seem that they used their confidential funds (CF) for a youth training program when it was the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and local government units (LGUs) that shouldered most of the expenses.
This was the observation of Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, which she pointed out at the hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability on Thursday.
Luistro reached a conclusion after asking Army Col. Manaros Boransing what agencies’ funds were used for the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS), an anti-insurgency campaign for young people in which DepEd supposedly allocated P15 million of its CF.
“We all closely monitor the program of the Youth Leadership Summit to ensure that it is multi-stakeholder and it fits the objectives of the program. So we have personal knowledge, we can go around in each barangay, but they have — since they use the budget from the Philippine Army — we have after-activity reports, fund utilization reports, pictures, and documentations,” Boransing said.
“You mentioned earlier Col. Boransing, you are using the funds of the Philippine Army. You confirm that? Are you sure? For the eight YLS that were conducted, you used the fund of the Philippine Army?” Luistro asked.
“Yes Mr. Chair … For our participants we used the Philippine Army, the 40 students used the local government unit funds, Mr. Chair,” Boransing replied.
Luistro then asked retired Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin, a former Education undersecretary, if it is true that DepEd did not allocate funds for the YLS since it is an AFP program.
Mempin replied in the affirmative.
“I was asked by the Office of the Secretary to ask for the certification coming from these units, but it is clear to them or even to me that no funds are involved, meaning no funds are released to these units. What the Office of the Secretary just wanted to know is the product or the result of the collaboration of various stakeholders including DepEd, with regards to our youth, so it is clear that DepEd has not released any single centavo to the conduct of YLS,” Mempin said.
“If you are saying, General Mempin, that no DepEd funds were used for the Youth Leadership Summits, where did you spend the P15 million?” Luistro asked.
Mempin said he “was not aware of it” because his task was “just to coordinate.”
“To be candid about it, the commanders of Col. Boransing, Col. Panopio, and Lt. Col. Sangdaan are my former colleagues or classmates in the Philippine Military Academy,” he added.
Luistro then turned to the Commission on Audit (COA), which confirmed that the acknowledgment receipts used by DepEd to show how the P15 million CF was spent referred to the YLS.
However, DepEd labeled this disbursement as a reward to informers.
“Mr. Chair, I want to ask [COA audit team leader Atty. Gloria Camora]. Is my understanding correct, that in the AOM (Audit Observation Manual), there is a disallowance worth P75 million? Out of the P75 million, you are asking for supporting documents of the P15 million which were paid as rewards to informers?” Luistro asked.
Camora said “yes.”
“In response to the supporting documents that DepEd submitted, these certifications about the Youth Leadership Summits. Is this correct?” Luistro asked. “In other words, these certifications submitted by the AFP officers are being used as justification for the P15 million utilization paid as reward to informers, correct?”
Camora again replied in the affirmative.
Luistro reminded DepEd officials that public office is a public trust.
“These confidential funds are public funds. We, all of us are accountable to the Filipino citizens…I do not understand why these people who are supposed to explain the P15 million are totally unaware of the same, because they are saying that they never used the DepEd fund and what they used is the fund of the AFP,” she added.
The DepEd under Duterte is the subject of the committee’s investigation after House hearings revealed issues with the agency’s financial management, including low budget utilization and anomalies.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe previously said that Duterte may be held liable for graft if she cannot explain how funds were spent, particularly regarding items with adverse findings from the COA.
READ: Sara Duterte’s confidential fund spending raises new, more doubts
Duterte and several former officials invited did not show up to the hearing, claiming that the House panel has no jurisdiction over the issue.