Landbank manager: DepEd encashed P112.5M in three withdrawals in 2023

The Department of Education (DepEd), then headed by Vice President Sara Duterte, withdrew a total of P112.5 million through three separate cash transactions in 2023, a Land Bank of the Philippines branch manager told the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday.

Nenita Camposano, manager of the Landbank DepEd Branch from May 2022 to September 2024, testified that the withdrawals were made by DepEd Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda in February, April, and July 2023.

According to checks presented by the House prosecution panel and stipulated by the defense, each withdrawal amounted to ₱37.5 million.

Camposano said the transactions were "unusual" because the branch typically handled DepEd withdrawals of around ₱10 million.

She testified that the agency would notify the bank a day before each withdrawal so the cash could be prepared and delivered from Landbank's cash center.

Once the funds arrived, Fajarda and another unidentified individual would collect the cash, place it in bags, and leave the bank through a fire exit connected to the DepEd complex.

Camposano said bank personnel no longer monitored the funds after they were received by the client.

"We have a policy wherein when the client gets the cash, the bank is hands-off. It's for the safety of the employee. Whatever happens to the cash after it is handled by the client, we are no longer liable," she told the court.

Asked by defense counsel Michael Poa whether the fire exit was likely used because it connected directly to the DepEd building, Camposano replied, "Yes, sir."

She clarified, however, that she could not confirm whether the cash withdrawals were intended for confidential funds.

During questioning by Sen. Bam Aquino, Camposano explained that transactions exceeding ₱500,000 are automatically reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as covered transactions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

She distinguished these from suspicious transaction reports, which are filed only when there are indicators that warrant further scrutiny, regardless of the amount involved.

Camposano, who was responsible for signing suspicious transaction reports for the branch, said the size of the withdrawals alone did not automatically make them suspicious or require an STR filing with the AMLC.