Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara said on Wednesday, Feb. 19, that the agency is investigating whether individuals have served as “accomplices” in the fraudulent use of the Senior High School (SHS) Voucher Program.

“Yun talaga ang pinag-aaralan namin dahil yung ibang impormasyon, iilang tao lang ang may hawak nun… yun talaga ang tinitingnan namin kung may kasabwat dito (That's really what we're studying because some information is only held by a few people… that's what we're looking at—to see if there are accomplices involved),” Angara said on the sidelines of the DepEd Human Resource and Organizational Development (HROD) Convention in Pasay City on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Following the discovery of irregularities in the subsidy system, Angara said DepEd is working to identify those who may be involved in manipulating the SHS VP, which provides financial assistance to students enrolling in private schools.

“Dati, may nakita kami na may kasabwat na, although yung mga yun, wala na sa DepEd at kinasuhan na (Before, we saw that there were accomplices, but those individuals are no longer with DepEd and have already been charged),” Angara said.

Earlier this week, DepEd announced that an investigation had been launched into 12 private schools across nine divisions over allegations of listing “ghost students” to receive government subsidies under the SHS VP.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/17/dep-ed-investigates-12-private-schools

Penalties for involved schools

Angara emphasized that penalties should be imposed on schools found guilty of wrongdoing.

“Dapat may penalty tayo para hindi na maulit, hindi na subok ng subok (There should be a penalty so it won’t happen again, and people won’t keep trying),” he added.

The penalty, he explained, should apply not just to the schools but also to their officials.

“Pati yung mga opisyales ng eskwelahan dahil may pinipirmahan yan under oath [at] pwede kasuhan ng perjury kung tutuusin (School officials should also be held accountable because they sign documents under oath, and technically, they can be charged with perjury),” he said.

Accountability and stricter measures

Moving forward, Angara said DepEd is implementing stricter safeguards for the program’s implementation.

“Mas malaki dapat yung binabantayan nating level of validation dahil hindi natin naba-validate lahat (We need a higher level of validation because we can’t verify everything),” Angara explained.

“Imposible na mapuntahan yung libo-libong eskwelahan, pero dapat, in this day and age, may communications technology tayo para mag-validate (It’s impossible to visit thousands of schools, but in this day and age, we should use communication and technology for validation),” he added.

Meanwhile, Angara assured that DepEd will hold those responsible accountable and implement stricter measures to prevent further misuse of government funds.

“Natuwa ako na naagapan ito dahil nakatipid ang gobyerno ng daang bilyon (I’m glad this issue was addressed early because the government was able to save billions),” he said.

However, he also questioned why no one has been held accountable yet, noting that the only penalty so far seems to be the removal of the voucher.

“Kaya kami, siguro sasampolan namin ang mga tao dito na ang tingin namin ay hindi aksidente. Kasi kung isa o dalawang tao lang ang nagkamali, pwedeng clerical error yun (That’s why we’ll probably make an example out of individuals we believe didn’t act accidentally. If it’s just one or two errors, you could call that a clerical mistake),” Angara said.

“Pero kung may malinaw na pattern ng pananamantala sa sistema—kung may mga naghahanap ng butas para kumita—eh yun talaga siguro ang sasampolan natin (But if there’s a clear pattern of exploiting the system—finding loopholes to make a profit—then those are the ones we need to hold accountable),” he added.