Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 14) — Rather than allocate confidential and intelligence funds to the Department of Education, the government should instead use the money to build more classrooms, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said on Monday.
“Kung sa Bicol i-implement ‘yan, e, hindi na sana magka-klase ang isang teacher sa parang bahay ng mga baboy, para po talagang gano’n. Ang mga bintana pinagtagpi-tagping mga kahoy, walang electric fan, walang ventilation. Makakagawa ng 60 classrooms yung ₱150 million na confidential yet not intelligent fund,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said Monday.
[Translation: If this is implemented in Bicol, then teachers wouldn’t have to hold classes in classrooms that are like pigpens, where the windows are made with a patchwork of wood, with no electric fans or ventilation. The confidential yet not intelligent fund can build 60 classrooms.]
Basilio said around 6,000 students could benefit from the fund realignment, which at the same time would help teachers who have to shoulder the cost of classroom repairs.
Citing the DepEd basic education report, ACT said that 211,051 of 327,851 school buildings, or about two in three, nationwide are in need of repair.
It also highlighted that in the DepEd’s proposed 2024 budget, the agency only asked for funding for the construction of three medium-rise buildings, 7,879 new classrooms, and for the repairs of 10,050 classrooms.
Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte earlier defended the ₱150 million in intelligence funds, citing guidelines on how this could be spent, but she stopped short of giving details.
Agencies with confidential and intelligence funds simply submit reports to the Commission on Audit of how the money was spent, supposedly in line with agreed procedures, but these do not pass audit scrutiny.
READ: Duterte defends proposed ₱150-M confidential funds for DepEd
CNN Philippines’ senior correspondent Gerg Cahiles contributed to this report.
