DepEd: P52M almost went to ‘ghost students’ in 12 private schools
The Department of Education (DepEd) saved more than P50 million in taxpayer money when it stopped the release of vouchers meant for senior high school students (SHS) in 12 private schools who were found to be nonexistent.
The “potential defraudment,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara revealed, amounted to P52,571,500 for the SHS voucher program and covered the school year 2023-2024 during the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte as DepEd chief.
“Upon validation of the questionable claims from these 12 schools, we did not process nor release any payments and investigated the schools,” Angara said in a statement sent to the Inquirer.
The education chief, however, declined to identify the erring schools while investigation is ongoing, but noted that they are located in Metro Manila and the regions of Davao, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas and the Bangsamoro.
“To protect the integrity of the investigation, we will not be disclosing the specific areas and names of the schools,” Angara said.
Schools, officials accountable
The flagged private schools can be removed from the voucher program and the school administration officials can face criminal charges, including falsification and perjury, for signing the documents under oath.
“Attempting to defraud the Philippine government through falsification and misrepresentation is a serious criminal offense, one that our lawyers are prepared to take action on,” he said.
Angara plans to impose new safeguards in validating claims for SHS vouchers to prevent similar cases from happening again.
He also stressed the need for a more advanced authentication process to detect erroneous claims.
“We should be able to keep an eye with a much bigger level of validation because [the DepEd] is able to validate everything,” Angara said on the sidelines of a DepEd convention also on Wednesday. “In this day and age, there should be … [a new] technology that we can use to validate.”
The DepEd rolled out the voucher system in 2015 to make SHS education more accessible to students from low-income families. It also aims to minimize overcrowding in public schools as grantees may enroll in private institutions using the vouchers.
The value of each voucher ranges from P14,000 to P22,500, depending on the student’s location.
Senate probe
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada has filed Senate Resolution No. 1316, calling for the committee on basic education to investigate the matter “in aid of legislation.”
While he acknowledged the efforts made by the DepEd, Estrada said Congress may need to legislate measures to strengthen the SHS voucher program, identify prohibited acts and impose more stringent penalties to violations.
“It is imperative for the government to monitor the proper implementation of the SHS voucher program to ensure that public funds are judiciously allocated and that the intended beneficiaries of the said program are not deprived of the assistance they need,” he said.
Estrada added that the number of “ghost students” must also be determined. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS
