2 ex-DepEd execs face raps for allegedly amassing P6-M public funds

Two former Department of Education (DepEd) officials are facing malversation and graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly amassing up to P6 million in public funds.

The office of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the filing of malversation and violation of Section 3 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) against Jesus Nieves and Marilou Tolosa, former officials of the DepEd Regional Office 9 in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.

Based on the complaint against the two, Tolosa closed an account with Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) denominated as the Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Programme (BIARSP) in August 2007.

The BIARSP account was supposedly used for a special project funded by the government of Belgium.

Upon closure of the account, the remaining balance of P157.93 was transferred to the Deped Regional Office Trust Account.

But in November of the same year, Nieves authorized that the PVB debit the amount of P6,164,424.23 from the Deped Trust Account and transfer the money to the closed BIARSP account.

The following month, Nieves and Tolosa withdrew P6.1 million from the BIARSP account.

But in 2012, the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a Notice of Disallowance against the said withdrawal after the respondents failed to support it with documents.

The respondents has not submitted any counter-affidavits since the authorities discovered the questionable withdrawal.

“As public officials in the discharge of their official functions, both acted with evident bad faith resulting to an injury to the government in the amount of P6,164,424.43. Respondents failed to explain how such public funds were spent and utilized,” stated the Ombudsman in its resolution. /je