Lalong umiinit ang kontrobersiya sa Department of Education (DepEd) matapos ipahayag ni House Assistant Majority Leader at Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun na dapat imbestigahan ng House Blue Ribbon Committee ang iniulat ng Commission on Audit (COA) na hindi pa naresolbang financial transaction na nagkakahalaga ng P12.3 bilyon sa ilalim ng panunungkulan ni Vice President Sara Duterte bilang kalihim ng DepEd.

Sa isang pahayag, iginiit ni Khonghun na ang naturang COA findings ay lalong nagpapatibay sa kasong impeachment laban kay Duterte.

“The red flags keep piling up. First, it was PHP125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days at the Office of the Vice President. Now, COA has flagged over PHP12 billion in unresolved transactions at DepEd under Duterte’s leadership. This isn’t just an oversight—it’s a pattern of seemingly financial mismanagement,” ani Khonghun.

Ayon sa COA 2023 audit report, lumobo mula P11.4 bilyon noong 2022 hanggang P12.3 bilyon noong Hunyo 2023 ang mga hindi pa nareresolbang Notice of Suspension, Disallowance, at Charge ng DepEd.

Matatandaang inimbestigahan na rin ng House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability ang P125 milyong confidential funds ng Office of the Vice President (OVP), na ginastos umano sa loob lamang ng 11 araw noong Disyembre 2022. Kasama rin sa imbestigasyon ang P112.5 milyong confidential fund ng DepEd kung saan nadiskubre ng Philippine Statistics Authority ang mga iregularidad sa birth records ng ilang benepisyaryo.

Dahil sa mga ito, nagkaroon ng impeachment complaint laban kay Duterte na nagresulta sa kanyang historic impeachment sa Kamara noong Pebrero 5, bilang unang bise presidente ng Pilipinas na humarap sa ganitong kaso.

Hinikayat din ni Khonghun ang Senado, na kikilos bilang impeachment court, na i-subpoena ang financial records ni Duterte para sa masusing pagsusuri.

“The COA report is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to follow the money. If the Vice President has nothing to hide, she should have no problem opening her financial records for scrutiny,” dagdag niya.

Giit ni Khonghun, dapat tiyakin ng Senado na magiging transparent ang impeachment proceedings.

“This COA report is damning. It exposes large-scale financial mismanagement in an agency with the largest budget in government. VP Sara must explain these findings, and the Senate must ensure accountability at the highest levels,” aniya.

Photo credit: Facebook/HouseofRepsPH