In a significant development, a House leader has called upon the House Blue Ribbon Committee to delve into the Commission on Audit’s (COA) report, which has raised concerns over PHP12.3 billion in unresolved financial transactions at the Department of Education (DepEd) during the time Vice President Sara Duterte served as its secretary. House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales 1st District Representative Jay Khonghun emphasized that the COA’s findings could bolster the impeachment case against Duterte.
The COA’s 2023 audit report highlighted DepEd’s alleged negligence in addressing notices of suspension, disallowance, and charge, which escalated from PHP11.4 billion in 2022 to PHP12.3 billion by the end of Duterte’s term as education secretary in June of the previous year. Khonghun pointed out a pattern of financial mismanagement, referencing not only the PHP12.3 billion at DepEd but also the PHP125 million in confidential funds spent by the Office of the Vice President in just 11 days.
The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, akin to the Blue Ribbon panel, had previously scrutinized the Office of the Vice President’s use of confidential funds and DepEd’s PHP112.5 million confidential fund, where discrepancies in recipients’ birth records were noted by the Philippine Statistics Authority. These investigations have played a role in the impeachment complaints filed against Duterte.
On February 5, the House took the unprecedented step of impeaching Duterte, marking her as the first Philippine vice president to face such action. Khonghun suggested that the Senate, serving as the impeachment court, should subpoena Duterte’s financial records for a thorough examination. He stressed the importance of transparency and accountability, especially given the COA report’s implications of large-scale financial mismanagement within DepEd, an agency with the government’s largest budget.