House to probe into ‘ghost students’ under DepEd SHS voucher program

A congressional probe into the alleged existence of “ghost beneficiaries” plaguing the Senior High School (SHS) voucher program of the Department of Education (DepEd) has been proposed in the House of Representatives.

House Assistant Majority Leader Jil Bongalon of the Ako Bicol party-list urged the House Committees on Basic Education and Culture and on Good Government and Public Accountability to conduct a “motu proprio inquiry” on the undocumented student beneficiaries. 

 

“Approximately more than P50M ang na-found out na binabayaran naman ng gobyerno pero wala naman talagang mga estudyante na naka-enroll sa mga iilang pribadong paaralan dito po sa ating bansa,” Bongalon said on March 1, Saturday.

Current DepEd secretary Secretary Sonny Angara, initiated an internal probe into 12 private schools across nine divisions, revealing ghost beneficiaries of the program through the submission of a bogus enrollees list.

The “potential defraudment” amounted to P52,571,500 from the school year 2023 to 2024 alone, when Vice President Sara Duterte served as DepEd chief.

Reports that private schools have been listing non-existent students date back to 2016, during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, and continued under the term of former DepEd Secretary, Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Baka noon pa meron pa mas malalaking halaga ang nasasayang sa pondo ng edukasyon na supposed to be dapat na mapagkikinabangan ng ating mga estudyante,” Bongalon said.

While the DepEd secretary is looking into the issue, Bongalon stressed the need for the Congress to do a “parallel investigation to legislate measures” that will assess the problem and identify loopholes.

 

The separate House inquiry would call for accountability not only among school owners but also within DepEd, particularly with officials who may have overlooked or may have contributed to the fraud.

“Doon sa naging imbestigasyon, malalaman natin kung saan nagkakaroon ng sabwatan, kung saan nagkakaroon ng korapsyon, and iyon ang ating aalahanin pa sa mas masusing imbesitgasyon na gagawin din po ng House of Representatives,” he said.

Alongside DepEd’s monitoring through regular, unannounced visits, Bongalon stated that the Congress could further review and suggest a “strict monitoring process” to ensure that all aspects of the issue are examined and that the government subsidiaries are used accordingly.

The voucher program seeks to provide financial assistance to eligible students enrolling in private or non-DepEd schools and to ease overcrowding in public schools 

Through the SHS vouchers, students can avail tuition subsidies amounting to Php 14, 000 up to Php 18, 000.