A Philippine Army officer told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday that his unit did not receive confidential funds from the Department of Education during the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte as DepEd secretary.

The DepEd under Duterte had claimed it had disbursed P15.54 million in confidential funds to the unit headed by Col. Manaros Boransing II for the conduct of youth-oriented anti-insurgency programs in 2023.

Boransing denied this, telling the court, “There was no funding released to the First Infantry Division from the DepEd or any source.”

The Commission on Audit (CoA) initially flagged P75 million in DepEd confidential funds for insufficient documentation, including P15.54 million in expenditures.

The prosecution alleged that the DepEd submitted certifications from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the CoA as proof that the Philippine Army used the P15.54 million for rewards to informants.

The certifications were in connection with the Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) and Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities conducted by the Army from January to December 2023.

The certifications confirm that eight YLS were conducted with 531 participants, while 53 IEC activities were conducted with 9,428 participants from different schools.

The CoA initially flagged P75 million in DepEd confidential funds for insufficient documentation, including P15.54 million in expenditures.

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. Before 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 the 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, by groups who are violent extremists.”

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

Participants are selected by a technical working group composed of the AFP, PNP, local DepEd officials, and other stakeholders, depending on where the program will be conducted.

Funds from multiple sources

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 ranged from P30,000 to P60,000, which is significantly lower than the P15.54 million in the questioned confidential funds.

Boransing said that while the DepEd might have spent its own funds on the youth programs, he maintained that his military unit did not receive any funds from the department.

“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 said the certification was intended solely to confirm the participation of the DepEd and other stakeholders and did not certify that the DepEd spent any funds, including confidential and intelligence funds, on the activities.

He also said 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.

Boransing said he issued the certification to the DepEd on orders of his then commander, Maj. Gen. Gabriel Viray.

He said he was unaware the DepEd would use it to justify its use of P15.54 million in confidential funds. He said he only learned of it during a House probe in 2024.

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