Ex-DepEd officer confirms fund transfers to superintendents on VP Sara's orders

MANILA, Philippines — The former special disbursing officer of the Department of Education (DepEd) confirmed to House lawmakers that he transferred funds to the bank accounts of superintendents under the instruction of Vice President Sara Duterte.

At the seventh hearing on Monday, November 25, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability asked DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda to verify screenshots of his exchange with superintendents from Central Visayas. 

The messages, which circulated online, showed a person identified as “Edward from the CO” (Central Office) and from the OSEC (Office of the Secretary) requesting the bank account numbers of DepEd superintendents.

Rep. Jude Acidre (Tingog Partylist) presented the screenshots to the committee and asked Fajarda to verify whether the messages were authentic and if the cellphone number in the messages belonged to him.

Fajarda confirmed both.

When questioned about the reason for requesting bank details, the former DepEd special disbursing officer replied, “Actually, I was instructed by VP Sara.”

Fajarda clarified that not all superintendents received funds and that it was not a regular occurrence, in contrast to the testimony of three high-ranking DepEd officials who said they had regularly received cash envelopes.

He added that only those who provided their personal account numbers received funds, which were given to him directly by Duterte.

“Binibigay po ‘yun [funds] sa akin ni VP Sara (VP Sara gave the funds to me),” he said.    

He explained that the funds were also provided to superintendents as “reimbursements” for field expenses they had paid out of pocket.

“Kasi during po sa pagikot ni VP Sara nakita niya po doon na ‘yung superintendent gumagastos ng sariling pera galing sa kanilang office field work po nila,” he told lawmakers.

(It’s because during VP Sara's visit, she saw that the superintendent was using their own money for fieldwork expenses from their office.)

While the testimonies of former DepEd executives mostly focused on receiving cash envelopes, former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado’s affidavit also mentioned her recollection of Fajarda inquiring about the