November 26, 2024 | 11:47am
MANILA, Philippines — The former special disbursing officer of the Department of Education (DepEd) confirmed to House lawmakers that he transferred funds to the bank accounts of superintendents under the instruction of Vice President Sara Duterte.
At the seventh hearing on Monday, November 25, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability asked DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda to verify screenshots of his exchange with superintendents from Central Visayas.
The messages, which circulated online, showed a person identified as “Edward from the CO” (Central Office) and from the OSEC (Office of the Secretary) requesting the bank account numbers of DepEd superintendents.
Rep. Jude Acidre (Tingog Partylist) presented the screenshots to the committee and asked Fajarda to verify whether the messages were authentic and if the cellphone number in the messages belonged to him.
Fajarda confirmed both.
When questioned about the reason for requesting bank details, the former DepEd special disbursing officer replied, “Actually, I was instructed by VP Sara.”
Fajarda clarified that not all superintendents received funds and that it was not a regular occurrence, in contrast to the testimony of three high-ranking DepEd officials who said they had regularly received cash envelopes.
He added that only those who provided their personal account numbers received funds, which were given to him directly by Duterte.
“Binibigay po ‘yun [funds] sa akin ni VP Sara (VP Sara gave the funds to me),” he said.
He explained that the funds were also provided to superintendents as “reimbursements” for field expenses they had paid out of pocket.
“Kasi during po sa pagikot ni VP Sara nakita niya po doon na ‘yung superintendent gumagastos ng sariling pera galing sa kanilang office field work po nila,” he told lawmakers.
(It’s because during VP Sara’s visit, she saw that the superintendent was using their own money for fieldwork expenses from their office.)
While the testimonies of former DepEd executives mostly focused on receiving cash envelopes, former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado’s affidavit also mentioned her recollection of Fajarda inquiring about the bank accounts of several individuals.
“My office confirmed that it was upon the instruction of the Office of the Secretary. Evidently, it would appear that regional directors and other employees on the field would also receive sums on top of their regular salaries,” Mercado’s sworn statement added.
Fajarda clarified the funds were given to superintendents, not regional directors. It also remains unclear whether the funds came from Duterte’s personal money as a “gift” or the agency’s funds, whether confidential or not.
Cash envelopes
Fajarda’s wife, Sunshine, was also questioned about the cash envelopes she allegedly handed out as Duterte’s former head executive assistant and DepEd assistant secretary.
However, Sunshine refused to answer, invoking her right against self-incrimination. She said that the allegations against her involve criminal acts and that she would prefer to address them in the proper forum.
Sunshine was first named by Mercado, and later by the Bids and Awards Chair Resty Osias and Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan.
RELATED: Ex-DepEd official claims VP Sara gave out P50,000 cash envelopes
Mercado received nine cash envelopes totaling P450,000, while Catalan received the same number of envelopes, but only P225,000 in total. Osias could not recall the exact amount in the four envelopes he received, but they contained around P12,000 to P15,000 each, he said.
The good government panel has yet to determine the validity of the cash envelopes, but they have learned from Fajarda himself that DepEd’s P112.5-million confidential fund was primarily managed by a designated security officer, colonel Dennis Nolasco.
Fajarda only “disbursed” the funds to Nolasco, but he did not personally deliver the rewards for information or payments for confidential expenses to the recipients.
A similar occurrence was discovered with the Office of the Vice President’s P500-million confidential fund.
RELATED: DepEd, OVP disbursing officers: ‘Security officers’ handled confidential funds
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