The list of 16 public high schools in Metro Manila allegedly targeted by New People’s Army recruitment has been vetted by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the Department of Education said Tuesday.
DepEd spokesman Undersecretary Michael Poa still refused to identify the schools, citing “the sensitive nature of the issue” but claimed all their information had been cleared with NICA.
“We have no specific information at the moment as to when these activities started. As mentioned, this is an ongoing operation and we are getting as much info as we can,” Poa said.
“We are addressing the issue with the relevant law enforcement agencies and crafting awareness programs for our learners,” he added.
During Monday’s Senate hearing on DepEd’s proposed budget for 2024, Poa cited the alleged NPA recruitment in 16 Metro Manila schools to justify the department’s P150 million confidential fund request.
Poa said 12 percent of the rebels who surrendered from 2016 to 2022 were minors, aged 12 to 17 years old.
Aside from the insurgency problem, Poa also told the Senate that over 5,000 minors were also discovered to have been involved in drug-related activities from July 2022 to July 2023.
For his part, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday said the Upper Chamber will convene a special committee on confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of the different government agencies, including that of the Office of the Vice President which has the highest CIF pegged at P500 million for 2024. DepEd, which is also headed by Vice President Sara Duterte, also has a P150 million CIF request.
Zubiri said the special committee will gather today (Wednesday) in a closed-door meeting to craft rules that will serve as guidelines as they inquire into the CIF allocated to various government offices. Zubiri will sit as chairperson of the special committee, whose members are Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, and Senators Sonny Angara and Ronald dela Rosa.
“It will be open for other senators to come. But it’s an executive session, not open to the public due to the nature of the use of intelligence funds which involves national security and public safety,” he said. The Office of the Executive Secretary, for its part, confirmed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had approved the release of P221.424 million in confidential funds to the OVP, upon the latter’s request.
“The President is authorized to approve releases to cover funding requirements of new or urgent activities of national government agencies, among others, that need to be implemented during the year,” the OES said. “VP Sara, who was newly elected then, needed funds for her new programs for the remaining period of 2022. The President supported this initiative and released the funds, with the favorable recommendation of DBM,” it added.
On Monday, Duterte admitted her office had requested confidential funds in August 2022 and received the allocations in December of that year. Pimentel raised a legal issue during the hearing, saying there was no item in the OVP budget for confidential expenses in 2022.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also questioned the transfer of allocations, adding that someone should be held accountable for the unauthorized and “clearly illegal” transfer of funds.
The Commission on Audit, in its 2022 Annual Audit Report, disclosed the OVP had P125 million in confidential expenses last year despite not having an appropriation for intelligence or confidential funds under the 2022 budget.
Meanwhile, at the Lower Chamber, the House appropriations committee on Tuesday terminated deliberations on the proposed P10.7-billion budget of the Office of the President for 2024 without fielding questions.
Makabayan bloc lawmakers, however, questioned the OP’s decision to grant Duterte’s request for confidential funds in 2022. They also asked about the P4.5-billion CIF of the Office of the President under its proposed P10.7-billion budget for 2024. Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cr
