The Department of Education (DepEd) has vowed to go after owners of a review center that used “dirty names” in their self-learning modules.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said this after Sen. Joel Villanueva inquired about a post circulating online on a learning module that used “dirty names” in the activity. 

The said learning module supposedly came from the DepEd, but Briones refuted this saying it was a privately-owned review center for teachers based in Zambales that produced the module.

“I just want to emphasize again that post is not used in schools. In the first place, schools have not yet opened. It’s a review center located in a very remote place in Zambales. There is clearly malice involved,” Briones told senators during a budget hearing on Friday.

“So while we are all very upset about it, especially me, we are going to file, under all possible laws, action against this malicious attempt. It’s really sabotaging our programs, putting us in a bad light and it is deliberate,” she further said.

Villanueva, during the hearing, showed the Senate Finance sub-committee chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, a photo of a post on Facebook by a certain Reyson Lee which showed one question showing multiple answers mentioning a “Pining Garcia,” “Abdul Salsalani,” “Malou Wang,” and “Tina Moran.”

Briones reiterated the material was not produced by the DepEd but by a review center for teachers.

“Nonetheless, they are still dirty, which is not appropriate at all. Pero hindi galing sa amin (that didn’t come from us),” Briones said.

“Kasi sometimes private schools produce their own materials so we’re wondering why it is attributed to DepEd at all. This is a review center and it is a particular subject for grown-ups but it is not an excuse at all. We will take action on that,” she stressed.