DepEd: 3 charged over SHS voucher anomaly

MANILA, Philippines —  Three school officials have been charged for alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Senior High School (SHS) voucher program of the Department of Education, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara announced yesterday.

Charges of consummated and attempted estafa through falsification of documents were filed by Louie Duterte of the DepEd’s Government Assistance and Subsidies Service Office against the school officials before the Caloocan City prosecutor’s office.

The names of the DepEd employees and the school were withheld.

“Deception has no space in the education department. We will continue to pursue accountability, no matter who is involved. We owe it to the people to protect every peso intended for learners,” Angara said.

He said all those involved in the anomaly would be held accountable, adding that “education should be spared from irregularities.”

Angara said the DepEd would strictly implement the SHS voucher program amid fraudulent activities of some private schools in claiming subsidies under the program.

In March, the DepEd ordered 54 private schools to refund P65 million in misused subsidy for academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

According to Angara, school officials involved in questionable use of vouchers are in cahoots with DepEd insiders.

“They were able to use the information of the students to make it appear that they enrolled in their schools, but there was no actual enrollment,” Angara has said.

The DepEd has published the names of beneficiaries of the SHS voucher program on its official website to promote transparency and uphold people’s right to information.

The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations or COCOPEA has said that the DepEd’s voucher program is necessary in decongesting public schools.

Joseph Noel Estrada, COCOPEA legal counsel, said that the anomaly in the voucher program involves only less than one percent of the total number of beneficiaries.

Of the 54 schools terminated from the program, 38 have fully refunded the DepEd subsidy. Two schools have made partial refunds. Fourteen schools have yet to return the financial assistance.

To date, around P65 million in voucher subsidy has been recovered.

The DepEd said further investigation is needed to determine whether these financial irregularities constitute fraud.