MANILA, Philippines – A Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that the Department of Education (DepEd), under the leadership of Vice President Sara Duterte in 2023, was able to build only 192, or just 3%, of the 6,379 target classrooms.

“Only 192 (3.01 percent) out 6,379 classrooms were completed/constructed in CY 2023 due to realignments because of modifications in the projects’ design. A total of 4,391 classrooms are still under construction, and 550 are yet to undergo various stages of procurement,” the COA report said.

Meanwhile, the COA also noted that of the 7,550 classrooms to be repaired by the DepEd in 2023, “only 208 classrooms were completed, 2,135 are undergoing repair, while a very significant target of 5,207 are still to be procured.”

State auditors also flagged that only three (3.41%) of the 88 Last Mile Schools (LMS) were completed. LMS is a DepEd program that aims to “address the gaps in resources and facilities of schools that are in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.”

COA said that the Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF) in 14 of DepEd’s regional offices was “not efficiently and effectively” used given the “several setbacks during the execution such as a) deficient works; and b) lapses in the manner of inspection, delivery, and safekeeping of school furniture.”

BEFF is an annual budget of the department for the improvement and maintenance of school facilities, such as the provision of classroom and workshop buildings, replacement of old dilapidated buildings, provision of furniture and fixtures, repair and rehabilitation of classrooms, including heritage buildings, as well as water and sanitation facilities, and electrification.

The 2023 budget of the DepEd was under the Vice President’s full fiscal year as head of the department. Duterte was at the helm of the DepEd since she assumed the vice presidency in 2022 until she resigned from the Marcos Cabinet on June 19 this year.

The low utilization of budget for school facilities is quite alarming since it was bared that the country lacks 159,000 classrooms to meet the ideal classroom-to-students ratio of 1:40 for junior and senior high school, and 1:35 for primary school.

The government had allocated a P15-billion budget for classroom construction in 2023.

Although her resignation took effect on July 19, Duterte was the subject of the budget deliberations on the 2025 proposed budget of the DepEd on Monday, September 2, as House of Representatives lawmakers probed into how the department utilized its funds in the previous years.

At the House hearing, House appropriations senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo decried the apparent slow utilization of regular funds of the DepEd under Duterte, comparing it to her fast disbursement of confidential funds (CF).

“So the efficiency in spending CFs is 143% — congratulations — but in terms of regular funds, it’s so slow. As per the COA report 2023, there is still P37.7 billion part of delayed partial at non-implementation of various programs,” Quimbo said.

“Big crisis, we cannot waste funds, we cannot waste time, I think those are the two things.  So it’s saddening that when it comes to the COA report — I’ve also heard the other lawmakers — that one of the biggest findings by COA in 2023 was low utilization. This means use of funds is slow, so funds are left behind, so wasted funds, wasted time,” she added.

Duterte was replaced by former senator Sonny Angara, who came to Monday’s deliberations to defend DepEd’s budget proposal for 2025 worth P793.1 billion, including automatic appropriations. – Rappler.com