Probe into Senior High School Voucher Program ongoing – DepEd

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said an investigation is still ongoing into the alleged irregularities surrounding the implementation of the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP) under the previous leadership.

Speaking at a post-State of the Nation Address forum in San Juan City, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said they have undertaken system reforms to prevent a repeat of the irregularities.

READ: Angara: Schools with voucher program anomalies will face sanctions 

“It’s not just P65 million, it appears to b bigger. It might be around 100 million pesos already. So, we’re really continuing our investigation on that and looking into how to strengthen the system so that no one can cheat it anymore,” Angara said in Filipino, referring to the misused funds.

He said legal actions have already been initiated to recover misused funds and hold perpetrators criminally liable.

“We have already filed cases — not just civil to recover the payments, but also criminal, to teach a lesson that the system should not be taken advantage of,” Angara said.

“We’re talking about a significant amount here — not just the monetary value, but also the value lost by those who rightfully should have received this voucher,” he pointed out.

The SHS-VP, co-implemented by the DepEd and the Private Education Assistance Committee, is a financial assistance initiative that provides subsidies in the form of vouchers to qualified learners enrolled in participating private or non-DepEd public senior high schools. /gsg