Solon: House must probe VPSD's P12.3B DepEd disallowed expenditures

The whopping P12.3 billion in alleged questionable expenditures of the Department of Education (DepEd) that were reportedly left unsettled by Vice President Sara Duterte during her stint as its secretary must be probed by the House of Representatives ahead of her looming impeachment trial, an administration lawmaker said Tuesday. 

House Assistant Majority Leader Jefferson Khonhghun posits that the P12.3 billion in disallowances, suspensions, and charges incurred by the DepEd when Duterte was still the secretary could strengthen the impeachment case against her, leading to her possible conviction in the Senate. 

The lawmaker was referring to the report of the Commission on Audit (CoA) in 2023, but released only recently, that showed that DepEd has pending notices of suspension, disallowance, and charge amounting to P12.3 billion. 

“This CoA report is damning. It exposes large-scale financial mismanagement in an agency with the largest budget in government. VP Sara must explain these findings, and the Senate must ensure accountability at the highest levels,” Khonghun stated.

The CoA issues notice of suspensions for "transactions of doubtful legality/propriety/regularity,” which may lead to pecuniary loss of the government and which will be disallowed if the agency concerned fails to validly justify the spending. It must be settled within three months from receipt.

Meanwhile, a notice of disallowance is issued for "irregular/ unnecessary/ excessive and extravagant" transactions, as well as those considered illegal and unconscionable.

The expenditures in question were flagged by the state auditors during Duterte’s first full year of office as Education secretary. Duterte headed the DepEd for nearly two years until she resigned on 19 July. She was replaced by seasoned lawmaker Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara.

Khonghun insisted that the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which probed Duterte’s confidential fund use, should also consider looking at the disallowed expenditure of the DepEd, which jumped from P11.4 billion in 2022.

“The red flags keep piling up. First, it was P125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days at the Office of the Vice President. Now, CoA has flagged over P12 billion in unresolved transactions at DepEd under Duterte’s leadership. This isn’t just an oversight — it’s a pattern of seemingly financial mismanagement,” Khonghun lamented.

The House’s exhaustive investigation into Duterte’s fund utilization had revealed, among others, that the disbursement of her multi-million confidential funds in 2022 and 2023 was allegedly supported by fictitious acknowledgment receipts (ARs).

The panel learned that out of 677 listed recipients, 405 have no records of birth, raising concerns about the authenticity of the transactions.

These findings resulted in the filing of four impeachment complaints against the VP, citing allegations of graft, corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

Despite the serious allegations, Duterte repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and contended that the accusations were part of a political attack against her to derail her presidential ambition in the 2028 polls. 

Meanwhile, 1-Rider Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, among the House prosecutors, said that they may consider the P12.3 billion in disallowed transactions of Duterte as additional evidence in her Senate trial.

“If it would be found to be in line with our allegations in the impeachment complaint, then I don't think the prosecution team would... shy away from making use of such evidence," he told reporters on a briefing on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Gutierrez believes that the prosecution already has enough strong evidence to convince the Senate impeachment court to convict Duterte and remove her from office.

"Without saying too much, I think we have enough evidence… Especially considering that, in our opinion... that the impeachment case is not strictly criminal. It's, sui generis. It's more of an administrative matter," he stated.