THE MAKABAYAN bloc members of the House of Representatives called on Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio to answer the extreme under utilization of the Department of Education budget while she had 100 percent utilization of confidential funds.

The lawmakers stressed that the DepEd under her watch was such a laggard that it had dismally low accomplishments with only 208 classrooms repaired out of their own target of 7,550 and only 3 Last Mile Schools made out of their target of 88.

According to the Commission on Audit report, DepEd had a zero-accomplishment rate in its computerization project due to the inability to complete the procurement process for 2023.

The report also said that the delayed delivery of laptops for teachers and the possible rigging of bids for the DepEd computerization program may cause the government to lose close to P1.6 billion during the re-bidding.

There is also the P5.6 billion DepEd feeding program issue, where nutribuns delivered were stale, moldy and insect-infested, while some of the milk were already spoiled.

“Vice President Duterte’s refusal to answer legitimate questions regarding her budget spending demonstrates a disregard for the principles of transparency, accountability, and the constitutional duties she swore to uphold. The misuse of public funds of the OVP and DepEd is an impeachable offense, particularly given the severe lack of funding for social services,” the group said.

“We, the Makabayan bloc, denounce Vice President Sara Duterte’s latest attempt to deflect the public’s attention from the pressing issue of her misuse of confidential funds by fabricating a supposed Makabayan-Romualdez-Marcos alliance,” they stressed.

They added that the COA’s Notice of Disallowance has already highlighted the alarming misuse of PHP125 million in confidential funds by the Vice President’s office in December 2022.

“So, enough with VP Duterte’s squid tactics, we demand accountability. It is the right of the people to know how their money was spent, and it is our duty to ensure that public officials do not betray their trust as this becomes an impeachable offense,” they added.