November 5, 2024 | 4:47pm
MANILA, Philippines — A House lawmaker discovered that P10.49 million of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) P15.54 million confidential funds remained unaccounted for, despite being allocated for “youth leadership summits” and an information education campaign.
At the congressional probe into the alleged misuse of funds by DepEd and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro (Batangas, 2nd District) said on Tuesday, November 5, that certifications provided to state auditors to justify these programs only totaled P4.05 million.
Four certifications to clear DepEd’s P15.54 million disallowance or inappropriate spending of confidential funds still lacked details into which programs the agency’s activities fall under, Luistro argued.
The Philippine Army, which conducted the youth leadership summits, previously said it had no knowledge of DepEd’s confidential expenditures and did not use the agency’s funds for the summits.
RELATED: House hearing surfaces conflicting claims on DepEd’s confidential funds for ‘leadership summits’
Where confidential funds could be spent? Confidential funds are designated for four specific programs: counter-insurgency, school abuse prevention and control, anti-illegal activities operations and anti-extremism efforts.
The Commission on Audit (COA) confirmed to Luistro that youth leadership summits (YLS) and information education campaigns (IECs) are part of the counter-insurgency program, aimed at preventing the recruitment of teachers and students by terrorists and insurgents.
Only under the counter-insurgency program. Given that P15.54 million was reportedly used for YLS and IECs, Luistro questioned why only P4.05 million was certified as funds spent under DepEd’s counter-insurgency program.
“If so, then P15.54 million was utilized for the YLS and IECs, but what is only included in the expenditures for the counter-insurgency program is only 4.050 million,” the lawmaker said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Lack of specifics. COA explained the certifications submitted also cited additional purposes for the confidential funds, such as lectures on drug abuse and other crimes encompassing the other three programs. However, they were not specific.
Luistro expressed shock upon learning the COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO) did not closely classify confidential fund expenditures.
“Are you not particular about defining which program this is a part of? How are you able to account for the expenditures if you are not even aware of where each DepEd’s activity falls under?” she asked.
Although the purpose of the unaccounted confidential funds was described in two certifications as “other purposes,” ICFAO Officer Gloria Camora noted that no specific amount was mentioned.
In her manifestation to the good governance panel, Luistro urged for COA to adopt stricter auditing of confidential funds, ensuring they can identify the specific program each expenditure supports.
“Considering the amount that was spent under this program is only P4.05 million. I wonder how much was spent for abuse prevention, anti-illegal activities and anti-extremism,” she added.
Basis for malversation. Luistro stated that, based on these findings, the alleged misappropriation of public funds — which she believes to be true — constitutes a “prima facie case of malversation and breach of public trust.”
She referred to Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, which defines the four elements of malversation: the accused must be a public officer or employee, have control or custody over public funds, misappropriate or misuse those funds, and act either in bad faith or through negligence.
“Malversation can be done intentionally with criminal intent and can be done with negligence. With or without criminal intent, if the four elements are present, which I believe are present, there is a prima facie case of malversation,” Luistro said.
The House lawmaker recommended filing appropriate cases against public officials found guilty of breaching public trust and committing malversation. She also committed to legislating safeguards for all public funds, whether confidential or not.
Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District), who leads the good governance panel, earlier said that this could be a potential basis for filing an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, who served as DepEd secretary when these confidential funds were spent.
RELATED: Impeachment of VP Sara Duterte needed before plunder raps — House leader
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