Students frustrated with VP Duterte鈥檚 stint at DepEd 鈥� Solons
MANILA, Philippines — The high number of students wanting to see Vice President Sara Duterte removed from her office is a reflection of frustration and anger over her allegedly anomalous stint at the Department of Education (DepEd), a lawmaker said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun said that the students surveyed by the Center for Student Initiatives (CSI) may have seen Duterte’s time at the DepEd, which was marred by accusations of irregular confidential fund (CF) expenditures.
CSI recently said that a survey of 2,000 students nationwide, done from February 28 to March 16, revealed that 84.8 percent of students want Duterte removed from office.
READ: 84% of students want VP Sara Duterte removed from office – CSI survey
“We can see through this survey that students who may have seen her stint as DepEd secretary believe that she should be removed from her post. Why, you may ask. Maybe because they know that she did not manage DepEd well when she was there,” Khonghun said in Filipino.
“If she was already problematic at DepEd, how much more now with the grave corruption allegations against her?” he asked.
The House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability last September 2024 started an investigation of issues hounding DepEd and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), including the CF expenditures.
At one point in the hearing, officials from DepEd and OVP admitted that upon Duterte’s instructions, she left the release of the CFs to individuals who are not designated as special disbursement officers (SDO).
Last November 25, Gina Acosta, OVP’s SDO, said she left the release of CFs to Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group chief Col. Raymund Dante Lachica. Aside from Acosta, former DepEd SDO Edward Fajarda said that Duterte—when she was still Education secretary—designated Col. Dennis Nolasco as the official responsible for disbursing the CFs.
Aside from this, lawmakers also observed that DepEd under Duterte supposedly made it seem that CFs were used for a youth training program, when it is the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and local government units (LGUs) who shouldered most of the expenses.
At an October 17 hearing of the same panel, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro asked Army Col. Manaros Boransing during the hearing regarding what agencies’ funds were used for the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS)—an anti-insurgency campaign for young people which DepEd supposedly allocated P15 million of its CF.
Boransing said the Philippine Army and the local government units spent funds for the YLS.
These issues are on top of the allegedly fictitious names used to sign acknowledgement receipts (ARs) of CF disbursements. Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop noticed that some of the ARs were signed by a certain Mary Grace Piattos, which had a first name similar to a coffee shop, and a last name of a famous potato chip brand.
Later on, Lanao del Sur Zia Alonto Adiong showed two ARs—one for OVP and another for DepEd—which were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin. However, the signatures and handwriting of Villamin differed.
READ: House probe: OVP, DepEd CFs received by same man, different signatures
Khonghun said that this kind of leadership at DepEd is why students want Duterte removed from office.
“If this is how she led DepEd, it is not surprising why many students believe that she should be removed from her post. We can also include in the discussions that the Vice President did not really address the problems hounding DepEd, like the low quality of education, the shortage in school supplies, and other issues at the department when she was at its helm,” he said.
“Let us listen to the voice of our youth. They are the sector most affected by the decisions and shortcomings of a leader who failed her duties. She should face the allegations against her—if she did nothing wrong, why is she evasive?” he added.
Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor meanwhile in a separate interview said that the students’ frustration is a good sign that the youth sector is aware of issues hounding Duterte.
“If 84 percent of the surveyed agree that the Vice President should be held accountable, it only means that our people, the youth sector, is aware of the issues and it’s a good sign for them to call for accountability through an impeachment process that we will go through. It’s a good sign for me,” he noted.
Last February 5, Duterte was impeached by the House after 215 lawmakers filed and verified a fourth impeachment complaint, hinged on several issues like alleged misuse of confidential funds lodged within her offices, threats to ranking officials including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and conduct unbecoming of a Vice President.
The articles of impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate, as the 1987 Constitution requires a trial to start forthwith if at least one-thirds of all House members—in this case, 102 out of 306—have signed and endorsed the petition.
Under the Constitution, the Senate will act as an impeachment court with sitting senators being judges. Duterte can be removed from office if the Senate convicts her for the articles submitted by the House.
However, trial has yet to start as the articles of impeachment were not forwarded to the Senate plenary before session ended on February 5—which means that Congress would have to reconvene first after the election season, or through a special session to discuss the matter.
