SURIGAO del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel on Wednesday raised concerns over the alleged misuse of P112.5 million in confidential funds by the Department of Education (DepEd) under then-Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte, allocated for questionable youth seminars.
The funds, supposedly earmarked for Youth Leadership Summits, are now under intense scrutiny due to a lack of proper documentation and questionable liquidation reports.
Pimentel, Commission on Appointments Assistant Minority Leader, brought these issues to light during Wednesday’s hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which is investigating Duterte's alleged mismanagement of government funds at both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd.
Pimentel questioned how such a large amount could be justified for events involving relatively few participants.
“Pagpapakain lang ng almost 3,000 students, uubusin ba natin ng P112.5 million? Kahit na tatlong buwan silang mag-hotel, hindi maubos ang P112.5 million,” he pointed out.
The lawmaker cited audit observation memorandums (AOMs) from the Commission on Audit (COA), which flagged cash advances and liquidation reports for the summits, raising concerns about the large sum used, allegedly without supporting documentation such as receipts and photographs.
In his interpellation, Pimentel highlighted two AOMs dated Feb. 1, 2024, and Aug. 8, 2024, both addressed to DepEd’s special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda.
According to Pimentel, Fajarda was responsible for the P75 million cash advance and its liquidation, but he was notably absent from Wednesday’s hearing, along with over a dozen OVP officials who were also invited but failed to appear.
“It is very important that the presence of Mr. Fajarda is required in this committee, as he is the one who made and liquidated the cash advance,” Pimentel stressed.
He then moved to issue a show-cause order to compel Fajarda to attend the next hearing.
Lawyer Gloria Camora, the team leader of the COA unit that audited the OVP's confidential funds, confirmed the existence of the AOMs, covering different periods in 2023.
Pimentel questioned whether the summits actually took place, as the liquidation documents submitted to COA only included certifications from military officers.
“Do we have documentation? Do we have evidence that indeed they conducted this Youth Leadership Summit or sa papel lamang ito?” he asked, underscoring the lack of supporting materials such as receipts or photos.
The certifications, issued by military officials, claimed that several Youth Leadership Summits were conducted, with one certification stating that 531 participants took part in 8 activities, while another mentioned 205 youth participants, and yet another cited 860 participants in 9 summits.
Pimentel was unconvinced, pointing out that the certifications were insufficient to justify such large expenditures.
“In fact, for me, ordinary person ako, this does not fall within the utilization of the [COA] Joint Circular. Very clear po ito doon sa Joint Circular. Ano ba itong Youth Leadership Summit?” Pimentel asked, expressing disbelief over the program’s legitimacy.
Former DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa, who was present at the hearing, clarified that the Youth Leadership Summits were not directly conducted by DepEd but were instead led by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as part of their advocacy against insurgency.
“The Youth Leadership Summit is not something that DepEd had conducted, but actually ‘yung mismong nag-certify po from the AFP,” Poa explained.
Despite this clarification, Pimentel remained skeptical. “Mr. Chair, kahit na confidential fund po iyan, that is still taxpayer’s money. Napakalaking halaga ang P112 million para sa Youth Leadership Summit,” he said.
Pimentel emphasized the need for further investigation and the appearance of Fajarda to explain how the funds were spent.
“So that is why this committee would want to know where the money went, because it is very clear, this is just on paper. Pero ang totoo po niyan, may pinuntahan ho ‘yung P112.5 million,” Pimentel said.
Meanwhile, Tingog Partylist Representative Jude Acidre expressed deep concern on Wednesday over the recent allegations of ‘hush money’ that took place during Vice President Duterte's tenure as the Secretary of Education, as revealed by a former Education Undersecretary during a Congressional hearing.
“Nakatanggap siya ng sobreng may laman na pera regularly. I’m actually disturbed, kasi kung sinabi ni Undersecretary Gloria Mercado na meron pang isang nakatanggap at malamang meron pang ibang nakatanggap, I could only just imagine if this was done in regular intervals, say monthly, I could just imagine the total amount needed to sustain it over a year,” the legislator said in the second public hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Acidre was reacting to the revelation of Mercado on the same day, wherein she told lawmakers she received nine envelopes labelled "HOPE" between February and September 2023 containing P50,000.
Mercado said she never opened the envelopes during her stay at DepEd, and only discovered their contents after her retirement, to which she donated afterwards to a non-governmental organization.
Mercado, who resigned in October last year, said her departure was due to her refusal to bypass procurement guidelines.
The Vice President accused Mercado of soliciting P16 million in donations from the private sector without her knowledge.
Addressing the accusation, Mercado said that the P16 million was intended to fund the DepEd Guru app and other technological improvement.
Mercado added that other undersecretaries and assistant secretaries also received money from the Vice President.
The Vice President called Mercado a “disgruntled former employee”, accusing the latter cannot accept she was fired as a Department of Education (DepEd) employee.
“At P50,000 each, sabihin na lang natin may bente, may singkwenta, tapos merong 12 months and may Christmas pa raw,” Rep. Acidre furthered. “This is quite disturbing for this particular practice, even a small whiff of this happening in one of the departments that we hold in high regard.”
During the hearing, Acidre probed Mercado on the internal dynamics during VP Duterte’s leadership, particularly on how other officials were selected when VP Duterte assumed the role of Secretary.
Mercado admitted that while the department initially sought out the "best and the brightest," a growing culture of fear and compliance emerged under VP Duterte’s administration.
Acidre asked if the resignations within the department would be considered dismissals, to which Mercado said: “Yes, because they (the resignees) didn’t want to but they had to.”
The lawmaker raised alarm on the allegations, highlighting that education should be free from corruption as it directly impacts the future of the nation’s children and youth.
He further questioned the arbitrary firing of officials who disagreed with the then Secretary by focusing on the impacts it might have had to the staff of the “resigned” officials. It was also revealed that the then Education chief did not conduct exit calls for them.
Acidre asked Mercado: ”Right there and then, they (resigned officials) will lose their income. Their staff will lose all their benefits and salaries, and they will be left in the cold, left in the dark?”
The lawmaker separately said this action shows the lack of fairness and transparency in government operations during VP Duterte's stint, which have led to the loss of talented public servants who were dismissed without proper justification.
The Tingog legislator reiterated his call for a thorough and impartial probe into the allegations to ensure that those responsible for any anomalies are held accountable.
“This isn’t just about the allegations against one official—it’s about ensuring that DepEd, and all government departments, operate with integrity, transparency, and accountability,” he said separately. “
The arbitrary firing of qualified individuals could erode trust within the department, which could lead to a brain drain of experienced professionals. How do we expect DepEd to function effectively if people fear for their jobs every time they voice legitimate concerns?"
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