SENATE President Sherwin Gatchalian assured that stronger anti-fraud mechanisms will be put in place as the government expands its basic education voucher assistance program.

Gatchalian said the expanded program must prevent ghost students, unverified beneficiaries and other forms of abuse that could divert financial assistance away from qualified learners.

“Kasabay ng pagpapalawak natin ng voucher program, hindi na rin natin hahayaan ang mga ghost students, unverified beneficiaries, at iba pang klase ng pagsasamantala sa tulong pinansyal na dapat napupunta sa ating mga mag-aaral,” Gatchalian said.

His statement came after the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged 58 “unverifiable” beneficiaries under the Department of Education’s existing senior high school voucher program.

According to the COA compliance report, the unvalidated beneficiaries resulted in overpayments amounting to around P938,000.

The Senate and House of Representatives recently ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the Basic Education Voucher Assistance, which seeks to expand the voucher system to cover learners from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

The measure requires the DepEd to establish stronger safeguards against fraud and abuse, including a centralized verification system to confirm learner eligibility and the compliance of participating schools.

It also calls for enhanced audit and monitoring procedures, as well as administrative and legal sanctions against those found violating the program’s rules, including suspension, disqualification and blacklisting.

Gatchalian stressed that expanding the voucher program must go hand in hand with stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure that government funds reach the students who are entitled to receive them.

He said the safeguards are intended to protect public funds while ensuring that the expanded assistance program benefits legitimate learners and compliant schools.