DepEd working on COA report amid more calls for VP to explain

The Department of Education (DepEd), now under Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, on Wednesday clarified that the report of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the agency was still subject for compliance and efforts are under way to do so at the soonest possible time.

Dexter Galban, the DepEd assistant secretary for operations, noted that the consolidated annual audit report (CAAR) that was provided to them by state auditors was still “open.”

This means DepEd is still required to submit a “management response” through an accomplished Agency Action Plan and Status of Implementation (AAPSI) on the issues raised by the COA, Galban explained in a statement to reporters.

State auditors have called out DepEd on several deficiencies in its expenditures for 2023, the last full year it was under Vice President Sara Duterte.

They flagged P12.3 billion worth of disallowances and suspensions from its 2023 budget of P710.6 billion.

Of this amount, the COA issued notices of suspension on P10.1 billion; notices of disallowance on P2.2 billion; and notices of charges on P7.38 million due to DepEd’s “noncompliance with existing laws and regulations.”

Action plan

“DepEd is conducting a series of consultations and coordination with its regional offices and respective audit teams to finalize the AAPSI,” Galban said.

The AAPSI, after the consolidation of “all action plans,” will be submitted to the COA on or before the end of October this year, he added.

Galban also clarified the observation by the COA on the P5.69-billion School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) where auditors found out that the nutribuns intended for distribution to public school students were moldy, while milks were either spoiled or had not been delivered at all in some Schools Division Offices (SDO).

He said that 192 out of 218 SDOs nationwide, or 88 percent, were able to complete the SBFP “without any delays or concerns

Of the 26 SDOs identified in the audit report, Galban said 16 have already been “deemed closed and resolved, bringing to 208 the total number of SDOs whose SBFPs were “deemed successfully implemented by the COA.”

“The remaining 10 SDOs are expected to provide us with a full report within the week [and are] expected to be closed and resolved as well,” he said.

Diversionary tactic

The Vice President, who resigned as DepEd head in July, has yet to make a statement responding to the COA’s findings, but she is facing mounting pressure from lawmakers from the House of Representatives, who demanded that she address the damning COA findings instead of “diverting attention with baseless accusations” about the lower chamber’s partisanship.

In a joint statement, House Assistant Majority Leader and Ako Bicol Rep. Jil Bongalon as well as House Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre said the COA report presented “clear evidence” that Duterte had underperformed in her two years as education secretary.

“The COA report paints an alarming picture of DepEd’s failures under Vice President Duterte’s leadership. Completing only 192 out of 6,379 target classrooms is not just a minor oversight—it’s a gross neglect of duty,” Bongalon said.

Both also slammed Duterte’s insinuations of a “Makabayan-Marcos-Romualdez” plot to assassinate her character, referring to the opposition bloc in the lower chamber as well as President Marcos Jr. and his cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Answer COA findings

The Makabayan bloc in the House on Wednesday likewise called on Duterte to stop resorting to squid tactics and just publicly answer the issues raised by the COA regarding DepEd’s 2023 budget and disclose how she used the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President’ (OVP) when she attends next week’s budget hearing at the chamber.

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel denounced Duterte’s attempt to deflect public attention from her alleged misuse of her confidential funds by making up a supposed alliance between the Makabayan bloc, Speaker Martin Romualdez and President Marcos.

“It is imperative to set the record straight: no such alliance exists,” they stressed, pointing out that “rather than resorting to these squid tactics, Vice President Duterte should directly and truthfully respond to the questions to be raised during the interpellations on her office’s next budget briefing scheduled for Sept. 10.”

Impeachable offense

The hearing for the OVP’s proposed P2.037-billion budget for 2025 was deferred after Duterte refused to answer questions about her office’s use of public money, including confidential funds, in previous years.

“Vice President Duterte’s refusal to answer legitimate questions regarding her budget spending demonstrates a disregard for the principles of transparency, accountability, and the constitutional duties she swore to uphold,” they said, reminding her that the misuse of public funds was an impeachable offense.

The issues raised by the COA might also be raised during the Senate plenary deliberations of the (OVP’s) budget, according to Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

“When the plenary budget debates come, and former DepEd Secretary Sara still hasn’t followed the order of the (COA), of course, (the possibility) for that to be asked is wide open. I or any of my colleagues might ask about it,” she said at a press briefing.

“Every agency goes through such process—answering questions or obeying the order of the COA—as a measure to see if the budget they were asking for the following year is justified,” Hontiveros added. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS