VICE President Sara Duterte is once again under fire after it was revealed that the Department of Education (DepEd), under her leadership, falsely claimed to have used its confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) for a youth training program, when in fact, the Philippine Army (PA) and local government units (LGUs) shouldered most of the expenses.
Even more concerning, the Duterte-led DepEd used certifications from military officers who conducted Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) to justify P15 million in CIFs that were supposedly allocated to pay informers.
The controversy surfaced during Thursday’s hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, where Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro questioned the authenticity of the certifications submitted by DepEd, which supposedly justified the disbursement of P15 million in CIFs for informers.
According to the Commission on Audit (COA), DepEd used these certifications, issued by military officers involved in the YLS, as supporting documents for the payout.
Not informed
However, when military officers—retired Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao, Lt. Col. Carlos Sangdaan Jr., and Colonels Manaros Boransing and Magtangol Panopio—were called to testify, they revealed they were not informed that the certifications they issued in connection with the YLS in 2023 were being used to justify the alleged payments to informers.
The four officers also denied that any DepEd funds were used in the summits, a statement confirmed by retired Gen. Nolasco Mempin, who served as DepEd undersecretary at the time.
“I was asked by the Office of the Secretary to ask for the certification coming from these units, but it is clear to them or even to me that no funds are involved, meaning no funds are released to these units. What the Office of the Secretary just wanted to know is the product or the result of the collaboration of various stakeholders including DepEd, with regards to our youth, so it is clear that DepEd has not released any single centavo to the conduct of YLS,” Mempin said.
“If you are saying General Mempin that no DepEd funds were used for the Youth Leadership Summits, where did you spend the P15 million?” Luistro asked.
“Your Honor, Mr. Chair, I was not aware of it because the task given to me is just to coordinate because to be candid about it, the commanders of Col. Boransing, Col. Panopio, and Lt. Col. Sangdaan are my former colleagues or classmates in the Philippine Military Academy,” Mempin noted.
When asked by Luistro if his statement implied that DepEd did not incur any expenses related to the military’s involvement, as no funds were transferred from DepEd to the military, Mempin confirmed this as accurate.
Mempin emphasized that he was unaware the certifications would be used to justify payments to informers, as DepEd had claimed.
Boransing echoed Mempin’s statement, clarifying that the YLS were funded by the PA and LGUs.
“For our participants, we used the Philippine Army fund, and the LGUs used their funds for the youth,” Boransing said, noting that each agency covered its own costs in this multi-stakeholder event.
“We all closely monitor the program of the Youth Leadership Summit to ensure that it is multi-stakeholder and it fits the objectives of the program. So we have personal knowledge, we can go around in each barangay, but they have — since they use the budget from the Philippine Army, we have after-activity reports, fund utilization reports, pictures and documentations,” according to Boransing.
“You mentioned earlier Col. Boransing, you are using the fund of the Philippine Army. You confirm that? Are you sure? […] For the eight YLS, that were conducted, you used the fund of the Philippine Army,” Luistro asked.
“Yes Mr. Chair […] For our participants we used the Philippine Army, the 40 students they used the local government unit funds, Mr. Chair,” Boransing said in response to Luistro.
The revelations drew sharp criticism from Luistro, who highlighted the inconsistency between DepEd’s certifications and the military’s statements.
Where was P15M spent?
“If no DepEd funds were released for the [YLS], where was the P15 million spent?” Luistro asked. She also questioned why DepEd would use these certifications to support payments to informers when the military denied the involvement of CIFs.
COA representative Atty. Gloria Camora confirmed that the P15 million was part of a larger P75 million flagged in a notice of disallowance, with COA requesting further documentation to substantiate the expenditure.
According to COA, the certifications were used by DepEd to account for the funds allegedly paid to informers, despite the military’s denial.
The conflicting accounts have intensified scrutiny over the use of DepEd’s CIFs, with lawmakers calling for a deeper investigation into how these public funds were managed under Duterte’s leadership.
Pera ng taumbayan
“Let us all be reminded na ito pong confidential fund na ito pera ng taumbayan, all of us are accountable to the Filipino citizens,” Luistro pointed out. “Public office is a public trust. We should be accountable to the people at all times.”
She added: “Without the knowledge of [PA], the certifications were issued to DepEd to be able to justify the P15 million that was used allegedly for the payment of rewards. To this point, Mr. Chair, we’re not even sure if that money was indeed paid as rewards to the informers.”
In the previous hearing, Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel raised concerns about the alleged misuse of P112.5 million in CIFs by DepEd under then-Secretary and Vice President Duterte.
The funds, allocated for YLS, are under scrutiny due to insufficient documentation and questionable liquidation reports.
Pimentel questioned how such a large amount could be justified for seminars involving relatively few participants, citing audit observation memorandums from COA that flagged the cash advances and raised concerns over the lack of receipts and photographs as supporting evidence.
The hearing revealed that DepEd’s special disbursing officer, Edward Fajarda, was responsible for the P75 million cash advance related to the CIFs.
Military certifications claiming that YLS had taken place were submitted to justify the expenditures, but Pimentel remained unconvinced, stressing that certifications alone were insufficient to account for such a large sum.
He questioned whether the summits genuinely occurred, citing the lack of proper documentation.
Former DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa clarified that the YLS were conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, not directly by DepEd.
However, Pimentel remained skeptical, stressing that, regardless of the source, the confidential funds represented taxpayer money and required further investigation.
Pimentel emphasized the need for transparency, stating that the committee would continue its investigation to determine where the P112.5 million actually went.
