TWO “Young Guns” House leaders have urged Vice President Sara Duterte to address the P5.6 billion in wasted food supplies during her tenure as Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), dismissing her accusations of political persecution by the alleged “Makabayan-Marcos-Romualdez” alliance as a distraction from the real issue of accountability.
House Assistant Majority Leaders Jay Khonghun (Zambales, 1st District) and Paolo Ortega V (La Union, 1st District) pressed Duterte to confront the failures of DepEd’s feeding program, which squandered billions meant to provide essential nutrition to students in need.
They further called on the Vice President to stop fabricating the narrative of a non-existent “Makabayan-Marcos-Romualdez” alliance and instead focus on addressing the damning findings from the Commission on Audit (COA).
COA’s audit report revealed significant lapses in the 2023 DepEd feeding program, uncovering defective food items such as moldy, insect-infested nutribuns, rotting food, and mislabeled packaging, depriving students in Aurora, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental, Iligan, and Quezon City of essential nutrition.
“Imbes na magturo ng iba, mas mainam na harapin ni Vice President Duterte ang katotohanan. Nasa P5.6 bilyong halaga ng pagkain ang nasayang at hindi napakinabangan ng mga bata. Bilang lider ng DepEd noon, dapat siniguro niyang tama ang magiging implementasyon ng proyekto. Malinaw na command responsibility ito. Hindi ito usapin ng pulitika, kundi ng wastong paggamit ng pondo ng bayan,” Khonghun emphasized.
Ortega pointed to the Marcos administration’s continued efforts to assist the poor and alleviate poverty, noting that Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has been instrumental in driving these initiatives forward.
He cited the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) as a key example of how the government is delivering services directly to the people.
The BPSF recently brought P1.2 billion in services and financial aid to 250,000 beneficiaries in Davao City, marking the 23rd installment of the nationwide initiative.
“These are the types of programs making a real difference. Under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and with the strong support of Speaker Romualdez, the administration is bringing tangible relief to struggling families. This is also reflected in the recent drop in inflation,” Ortega said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the inflation rate eased to 3.3% in August, down from 4.4% in July, due to slower increases in food and transportation costs. Year-to-date inflation for the first eight months of 2024 now stands at 3.6%, down from 5.3% in the same period last year—well within the government’s target range of 2% to 4%.
“Patuloy ang administrasyon, kasama si Speaker Romualdez, sa pagtulong sa mga mahihirap at pagpapagaan ng buhay ng ating mga kababayan. Pero kailangan ding sagutin ni VP Sara ang mga pagkukulang noong siya ang namuno sa DepEd. Ang mga nasayang na pondo ay malaking kawalan para sa mga batang dapat ay nakinabang,” Ortega pointed out.
Khonghun stressed that this is not a matter of politics but one of transparency and accountability.
He said that while the administration continues to deliver on its promises, Duterte must address the lapses that led to the failure of a program intended to provide critical nutrition to students.
“Hindi ito usapin ng pulitika, kundi ng transparency at accountability. Karapatan ng publiko na malaman kung ano ang nangyari sa bilyun-bilyong pisong pondo na dapat sana ay napakinabangan sa mga batang nangangailangan,” Khonghun said.
