DepEd accountant got cash from VP

THE chief accountant of the Department of Education (DepEd) said she had received envelopes containing P25,000 in cash over nine months in 2023 from Vice President Sara Duterte, when she was still the concurrent education secretary. The chief of the DepEd's Accounting Division, Rhunna Catalan, admitted receiving the cash at a hearing before the House Committee On Good Governance And Public Accountability when the panel's chairman, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, asked her if she also received envelopes from former DepEd assistant secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda. Catalan volunteered that the amount was "minimal" — P25,000 — and that she was told that this was an allowance that came from Duterte's personal funds, not confidential funds. Under questioning, Catalan admitted that Fajarda had asked her to sign a liquidation for the P112.5 million in confidential funds of DepEd that were submitted to the Commission on Audit. She said she was not pressured but was requested "in a nice way" to sign the liquidation report. Fajarda was also named in previous testimony by former DepEd undersecretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado as the one who gave her envelopes containing cash from the vice president. Mercado said the envelopes contained P50,000 each and were given from February to September 2023. The committee on Tuesday resumed its probe on the use of the funds when Duterte was still secretary of the DepEd, as well as the use of funds by the Office of the Vice President. But some of the invited resource persons from the OVP were not present. In a letter dated Nov. 5, they said that the subject of the discussions in the probe "is not in aid of legislation" and that the House Committee on Appropriations "had the proper jurisdiction on the issues raised." They also said they have a "right to respectfully refuse to participate in the" probe. They also said that "extreme caution must be made when discussing... issues that are pending before the Supreme Court lest we violate the rule on sub judice." The letter was signed by Zuleika Lopez, Lemuel Ortonio, Rosalynne Sanchez, Julieta Villadelrey, Gina Acosta, Sunshine Charry Fajarda, and Edward Fajarda. A similar letter was signed by Norman Baloro, Winnie Dayego, Kelvin Gerome Teñido, Zuhairah Abas, Jeizel Cone Asia, Rolmar Basalan, Maria Laiza Pamittan-Frogoso, Ma. Constancia Lim, Chris Sorongon, Michael Angelo Saavedra, Maximo Alexis Tan, Alan Tanjuakio, and Regina Rosa Tecson. Meanwhile, in a letter, Ma. Edelyn Rabago asked the committee to excuse her from participating because "I do not have the competence to respond to the inquiries of the committee." "It is my understanding that I have been invited in my capacity as an officer-in-charge of the Budget Division, which I only temporarily held this year. However, I no longer hold that position since Sept. 30, 2024," Rabago said. Duterte had attended the first day of the probe on Sept. 18, during which she had accused lawmakers of making a case for her impeachment. But House leaders denied that there was a move in the chamber to impeach Duterte. Later, in a letter dated Sept. 23, Duterte informed Chua, the committee's chairman, that she "will not be attending the deliberation" and stated her reasons. Duterte had said that verification could be easily done "through the accomplishment reports submitted by the OVP to support its 2025 budget proposal, and confirmed through various news reports, Commission On Audit reports and postings on various social media platforms." "Clearly, the conduct of a formal inquiry or hearing on the matter is unnecessary," Duterte had said.