DepEd Accused of Misusing Military Certifications in VP Duterte Impeachment Trial

MANILA, Philippines – On the 20th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the prosecution brought to the court what a House inquiry revealed two years ago: that the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s leadership allegedly used the military to justify its confidential spending. The prosecution panel on Tuesday, September 1, presented Colonel Manaros Boransing II and Colonel Magtangol Panopio, who issued Philippine Army certifications that DepEd submitted — without their knowledge — to the Commission on Audit (COA) to defend the agency’s P15.54-million expenditure for payment of rewards. The certifications attested to the success of the AFP’s youth leadership summits in collaboration with various agencies, including DepEd, for 2023. Boransing told the court that his division, and the army, did not receive funds from DepEd for these activities. “No funds…were downloaded the 1st Infantry ‘Tabak’ Division for 2023 for the youth leadership summit and education information communication campaign by any agency,” said Boransing, who was assistant chief of staff for civil military operations of his division at the time. “We were surprised because our certification was to certify the conduct of the youth leadership summit. We did not certify anything about money or funds,” Panopio added. “(The certification) would not suffice.” Play Video DepEd subsequently attached the two certifications — Panopio’s certification dated December 5, 2023, and Boransing’s certification dated January 1, 2024 — to its April 17, 2024 response to the COA’s audit observation memorandum flagging the agency’s confidential expenses. “Nabudol po ang AFP (The AFP was duped),” Adiong said. “Ganoon po kadesperado ang DepEd sa panunungkulan ni VP Sara Duterte (That’s how desperate DepEd was under Sara Duterte’s leadership.)” Old news This allegation isn’t new: the House first tried to establish during the 2024 House good government committee inquiry that the DepEd deliberately misled COA into believing it funded AFP’s youth summits. The prosecution tried to extract catchy soundbites from the military officers, with private prosecutor Reynaldo Robles even asking Boransing whether he would have still issued the certification today now that he knows how it was used by DepEd. Boransing, however, declined to answer, saying: “It’s very speculative. It didn’t happen that I had prior knowledge. It’s hard to speculate what I would have done.” Despite the lack of bombshell revelations, the prosecution downplayed it as par for the course. “There is nothing new because the truth is never new. The truth is always the truth,” private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said. “I don’t want to make this an issue of Colonel Boransing. I want to focus more on the testimony he has provided before the court,” Adiong added. Prosecution to COA: Revisit decision on DepEd confidential spending The P15 million attributed by DepEd to the AFP youth leadership summits was part of its P112.5 million in confidential spending for three quarters of 2023. COA initially flagged the amount of P75 million for insufficient documentation through an audit observation memorandum. During the course of the trial, the COA through state auditor Xylene del Campo confirmed that COA cleared DepEd’s confidential use for the first two quarters of 2023 through a credit notice — a document issued by COA to indicate that an amount is evaluated, allowed in audit, and considered settled. COA issued the credit notice on August 9, 2024, preceding the House inquiry in October that unearthed revelations on DepEd’s use of AFP certification for a summit it did not fund. For Adiong, the COA should revisit its investigation. “Because of what our witnesses said in relation to DepEd’s confidential said…. I think that would be enough reason for the COA to review its earlier and initial decision,” Adiong said. Del Campo had said during the August 11 trial that settled accounts may be reopened before the expiration of three years after the settement “if the transaction is tainted with fraud, collusion, and new material evidence was discovered.” – Rappler.com