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Advocates Philippines
More Trouble For VP Sara? House Panel Pushes To Probe P12.3B DepEd Funds In Impeachment Case
Photo credit: Congress PH
The heat is on for Vice President Sara Duterte as another financial controversy lands on the table. House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun wants the House Blue Ribbon Committee to dig deeper into the Commission on Audit’s (COA) latest report on the Department of Education (DepEd). The report flagged a staggering P12.3 billion in unresolved financial transactions, and Khonghun believes this could be another solid piece of evidence in Duterte’s ongoing impeachment case.
What’s the issue?
According to COA’s 2023 audit, DepEd allegedly failed to settle P12.3 billion worth of questionable financial transactions by the end of Duterte’s tenure as education secretary. This was an increase from P11.4 billion in 2022, suggesting little to no effort was made to address the flagged concerns.
Khonghun didn’t hold back, saying, “The red flags keep piling up. First, it was P125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days at the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Now, COA has flagged over P12 billion in unresolved transactions at DepEd. This isn’t just
an oversight—it’s a pattern of financial mismanagement.”
Why does it matter?
This latest revelation adds fuel to the impeachment fire against VP Sara. The House Blue Ribbon Committee has already looked into the OVP’s controversial spending spree—where P125 million in confidential funds vanished in less than two weeks. Adding to the controversy, over 1,300 listed recipients of these funds reportedly had no birth records, raising concerns of possible fraud.
A similar issue surfaced with DepEd’s confidential fund spending, where 405 out of 677 listed recipients also had no birth records. With these findings, House lawmakers moved forward with multiple impeachment complaints, citing graft, corruption, and betrayal of public trust.
On February 5, 2025, the House officially impeached Duterte—the first time a Philippine vice president has faced such proceedings.
What happens next?
As the case moves to the Senate impeachment trial, Khonghun believes these financial anomalies strengthen the argument against Duterte. He even suggested that the House prosecution team might push for a subpoena of Duterte’s financial records to uncover any more irregularities.
“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,” Khonghun stressed.
What’s the issue?
According to COA’s 2023 audit, DepEd allegedly failed to settle P12.3 billion worth of questionable financial transactions by the end of Duterte’s tenure as education secretary. This was an increase from P11.4 billion in 2022, suggesting little to no effort was made to address the flagged concerns.
Khonghun didn’t hold back, saying, “The red flags keep piling up. First, it was P125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days at the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Now, COA has flagged over P12 billion in unresolved transactions at DepEd. This isn’t just
an oversight—it’s a pattern of financial mismanagement.”
Why does it matter?
This latest revelation adds fuel to the impeachment fire against VP Sara. The House Blue Ribbon Committee has already looked into the OVP’s controversial spending spree—where P125 million in confidential funds vanished in less than two weeks. Adding to the controversy, over 1,300 listed recipients of these funds reportedly had no birth records, raising concerns of possible fraud.
A similar issue surfaced with DepEd’s confidential fund spending, where 405 out of 677 listed recipients also had no birth records. With these findings, House lawmakers moved forward with multiple impeachment complaints, citing graft, corruption, and betrayal of public trust.
On February 5, 2025, the House officially impeached Duterte—the first time a Philippine vice president has faced such proceedings.
What happens next?
As the case moves to the Senate impeachment trial, Khonghun believes these financial anomalies strengthen the argument against Duterte. He even suggested that the House prosecution team might push for a subpoena of Duterte’s financial records to uncover any more irregularities.
“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,” Khonghun stressed.
Feb 11, 2025
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