Damning

If she were not the sitting Vice President and a mere appointee, Sara Duterte might have been dismissed outright on the basis of that damning report by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Sara has, of course, resigned her post as head of the Department of Education (DepEd). But that will not eradicate the COA report suspending or disallowing P12.3 billion in that agency’s expenditure for the year 2023. That is a staggering sum. It could have been used to procure a fairly large warship we might permanently station at Escoda Shoal.

The COA’s 2023 repot on the DepEd includes: a total of P10.1 billion in notices of suspension; P2.2 billion in notices of disallowances and P7.38 million in notices of charges on account of “noncompliance with existing laws and regulations” in a number of headline projects.

COA’s notices have been acknowledged by the DepEd and officials of the agency have promised to return the funds in question. State auditors reported that they have “recommended, and the management agreed, to cause the immediate settlement of the suspensions, disallowances and charges in accordance with the revised Rules and Regulations on Settlement of Accounts.”

The auditors found lapses in the handling, recording and reporting of cash transactions in various regional offices. They likewise noted the accumulation of unliquidated cash advances that were either not authorized or had no specified purpose. This amounts to about P7 billion.

The auditors recommended that concerned DepEd officials stop the practice of granting additional cash advances when the liquidation of previous transactions remain incomplete. In addition, COA recommended the salaries of concerned DepEd officers be withheld until they have settled their liabilities. This is a prudent measure to reduce the possibility of future loss of public funds.

The audit report does not paint a flattering picture of how the DepEd was run under Sara Duterte’s leadership. The agency seriously underspent for its mainline projects even as it has very efficiently consumed its confidential funds.

On its vital computerization program, most notably, auditors found that DepEd had a “zero-accomplishment rate.” This is due to the