Vice President Sara Duterte revealed that the confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure were used to investigate alleged corruption within the agency, including the controversial P2.9-billion purchase of allegedly overpriced laptops.
Speaking at the Pandesal Forum in Kamuning Bakery, Quezon City, Duterte said reports of corruption were widespread within the department. “There were many reports of corruption inside the Department of Education, not just in the central office but also the regional offices,” she said. “So whenever there are reports, we will investigate, and one of those we investigated was the laptop [deal].”
Her statement, however, contradicted DepEd’s earlier claim that it was unaware of how Duterte utilized the ₱112.5-million confidential funds in 2023. Duterte had previously deferred to the Commission on Audit (COA), saying only the agency could disclose details of the fund’s spending.
The COA had earlier flagged the DepEd, under former Secretary Leonor Briones, for the 2021 purchase of laptops worth ₱2.4 billion, which were found to be outdated and overpriced. Duterte clarified that the procurement did not take place within the DepEd itself but through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
“So not all the procurement documents are in the DepEd,” she explained. “What we could only do back then was to blacklist [companies].”
She added that their attempt to blacklist the companies involved was unsuccessful, and they had to rely on the COA and Senate blue ribbon committee’s recommendations.
In its January 2023 report, the Senate committee found that the laptops were overpriced by nearly ₱979 million, with each unit costing around ₱58,300. The Office of the Ombudsman later ordered the suspension of several officials from DepEd and PS-DBM for their involvement, while Briones received a formal admonition but was not held liable.
