SENATOR Win Gatchalian is once again urging the Department of Education to address persistent issues hounding the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP), including ghost student beneficiaries and the failure to prioritize learners most in need.

Gatchalian’s call followed the release of the Commission on Audit’s 2026 annual audit report on DepEd, which flagged the lack of “clearly defined and standardized parameters” in assessing learners’ financial capacity.

The state auditor cited instances involving beneficiaries such as unexplained absences during monitoring visits, multiple listings in the same or different schools, and students tagged as “enrolled” despite not attending classes.

In 2024, Gatchalian led a Senate inquiry that found ₱7.21 billion was spent on non-poor beneficiaries of the SHS-VP for School Year 2020–2021. He then urged DepEd to prioritize the poorest learners in the selection of SHS-VP beneficiaries.

“Nakakadismayang malaman na nagpapatuloy pa rin ang ganitong klaseng mga problema sa pagpapatupad ng Senior High School Voucher Program, na dapat sana ay nakakatulong sa mga mag-aaral nating nangangailangan. Hindi na natin papayagang magpatuloy ito,” said Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.