An officer of the Philippine Army told the Senate impeachment court Tuesday that no confidential funds from the Department of Education, under Vice President Sara Duterte’s watch, were downloaded to their unit for conducting youth-oriented anti-insurgency programs in 2023. 

Col. Manaros Boransing II provided the testimony in light of the allegations that the DepEd, concurrently headed by Duterte from June 2022 to June 2024, improperly used certifications from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to justify P15.54 million in confidential expenses. 

The certifications were related to the Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) and Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities of the AFP from January to December 2023.

The certification confirmed that eight YLS were conducted with 531 participants, while IES conducted 53 activities with 9,428 participants across different schools within the area of operations. 

“There was no funding released to the First Infantry Division from DepEd, sir, or any source,” Boroan said, adding that the same was true for the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

Duterte stands trial for corruption allegations, among others. The prosecution accused her of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds, which were allocated between her two offices—the OVP (P500 million) and DepEd (P112.5 million)—from December 2022 to mid-2023. 

The P15.54 million formed part of the DepEd’s confidential funds, of which P75 million was initially flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) for insufficient documentation. 

The prosecution alleged that the DepEd submitted the AFP certifications to the COA as proof that the agency used the P15.54 million for informant rewards, even though the certificates were issued and signed by military officers. 

Among them was Boransing, who told the impeachment court, “There were no DepEd funds downloaded to our unit.” 

Boransing is currently the commander of Task Force-Zamboanga under the First Infantry (Tabak) Division. Prior to this, he served as assistant chief of staff for civil-military operations of the same division from 2021 to 2026. He supervised and monitored those activities and signed the YLS certificates dated 1 January 2024.

The YLS is a multi-stakeholder program with DepEd as a partner and the AFP as the lead agency. It was designed to “stop the recruitment of youth, either students in schools or out-of-school youth, to groups who are violent extremists.” 

Certificates issued to DepEd under boss's instruction

The program has been running since 2002 and has been carried out primarily in muslim areas that were associated with communists and insurgents. 

The participants are selected by the technical working group composed of AFP, PNP, local DepEd, and other stakeholders, depending on the areas where the program will be carried out.

Since the YLS is a multi-sectoral initiative, the funding comes from multiple sources, including provincial and local governments, participating stakeholders, and the AFP, according to Boransing.

The typical cost per YLS ranges from P30,000 to P60,000, which is significantly lower than the P15.54 million in the questioned confidential funds.

Boransing stated that while it was possible that DepEd might have spent its own funds on the youth programs, he maintained that his military unit did not receive any financial assistance from DepEd. 

“Based on your presentation as a witness, it appears that DepEd used your certification as justification for how the department supposedly spent its confidential and intelligence funds. But in your certification, did you mention how much DepEd allegedly spent on the Philippine Army’s activities? Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros asked. 

Boransing countered that the certification was intended solely to confirm the participation of DepEd and other stakeholders and did not certify that DepEd spent any funds, including confidential and intelligence funds, on the activities. He also noted that no intelligence gathering was conducted during the summits.

Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison, meanwhile, argued that the certification in question only covered one YLS. She emphasized that the AFP conducted multiple YLS and that she possessed copies of eight different certifications. The documents, she contended, provided evidence that the DepEd had a broader collaboration with the military units. 

According to Boransing, he issued the certification to the DepEd under the marching orders of his then-commander, retired Major General Gabriel Viray. He claimed, however, that he was unaware that the DepEd would use it to justify the use of P15.54 million in confidential funds. The witness stated that he learned about it only during a House probe in 2024. 

Boransing was initially called to shed light on DepEd’s confidential funds on 17 October 2024 during a congressional probe led by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

Before him, former DepEd spokesperson and undersecretary Michael Poa—now part of the defense—told House lawmakers that the YLS was not directly conducted by DepEd but was instead led by the AFP, as part of their advocacy against insurgency. 

Also in 2024, former DepEd Undersecretary Nolasco Mempin testified that he obtained the military certificate at Poa’s request as the DepEd prepared its response to the audit findings.

The prosecution is set to call Poa as a hostile witness on Wednesday.