Deped Under VP Sara Duterte Reportedly Wasted P1.064 Billion According to COA

DEPED PAID P1.064 BILLION FOR UNUSABLE DIGITAL PROJECT, COA FINDS

The Department of Education (DepEd) spent P1.064 billion on a digital infrastructure project that failed to deliver any usable outputs, according to the Commission on Audit’s (COA) 2023 report.

The project, DepEd Enterprise Resource Planning System (DERPS), was intended to automate payroll, inventory, and financial records but resulted in wasted public funds due to the non-delivery of key components.

COA criticized DepEd for paying over 78% of the project’s P1.356-billion cost to a contractor with questionable financial capacity and a history of delays. Payments continued despite the absence of a functioning system, leaving DepEd reliant on manual processes.

State auditors flagged procurement irregularities, including awarding the P697-million contract for Phase II to a joint venture where one party’s net worth was substantially below the project cost. They questioned why DepEd overlooked the contractor’s financial incapacity and history of delayed projects.

DepEd also failed to collect liquidated damages for delays and paid for undelivered milestones, with Certificates of Completion issued irregularly under the tenure of former DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Pascua.

COA reported further waste, including P9.06 million in unused computer equipment and P22.6 million in additional costs for maintaining related infrastructure.

Auditors urged DepEd to investigate officials responsible for the project, citing gross neglect of duty and the improper handling of public funds. DepEd defended its actions but failed to satisfy auditors, who emphasized the inefficiency of the project’s implementation.

Well, what can you expect from a useless politician na wala naman talagang nagawa na ang tangin nagawa alng niya ay magpa bonjing at magpakalat ng fake news.

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Bobo ka? kay briones yun hahahaha

The COA’s 2023 Annual Audit Report on DepEd highlights irregularities in the DepEd Enterprise Resource Planning System (DERPS), a project aimed at automating payroll, inventory, financial records, and other administrative processes across the department. Here’s a breakdown:

  • Total Project Cost and Expenditure: The full DERPS project was budgeted at P1.356 billion. DepEd paid P1.064 billion (over 78% of the total) to the contractor, leaving the system incomplete and unusable. This forced the department to continue manual processes, rendering the investment ineffective.

  • Project Timeline and Phases:

    • DERPS was launched in February 2019 under the Duterte administration (before Sara Duterte’s involvement), with Phase I awarded to contractor NTT Communications Corporation in December 2019.

    • Phase II (valued at P697 million) was awarded in 2022 to a joint venture, during Sara Duterte’s early tenure as Secretary. This phase included network infrastructure components.

    • The COA audit covers fiscal year 2023, when most payments were made, and criticizes ongoing decisions under her leadership for proceeding despite red flags.

  • COA Criticisms (Indicating Waste):

    • Questionable Contractor Selection: The Phase II contract was awarded to a joint venture where one partner had only P92.5 million in net worth—far below the required financial capacity for such a large project. The contractor also had a history of delays in prior government contracts.

    • Irregular Payments: DepEd paid P358.93 million upfront for Phase I, violating contract terms that limited advances. Additional costs included P22.6 million in maintenance fees for an undelivered system and P9.06 million for unused computer equipment.

    • Poor Planning and Oversight: The project was split into phases without ensuring completion of earlier ones before advancing. Key components (e.g., software modules) were never delivered, despite certificates of completion issued by then-Undersecretary Alain Pascua (who served under Sara Duterte).

    • Potential Neglect: COA flagged “gross neglect of duties” and recommended an investigation into DepEd officials for possible accountability under civil service rules. The auditors noted that continuing payments despite these issues amounted to mismanagement of public funds.

    As DepEd Secretary from mid-2022 to mid-2024, Duterte oversaw the department during the bulk of the flagged payments and the Phase II award. While the project started earlier (under Secretary Leonor Briones), the COA report attributes responsibility to the leadership at the time of the expenditures. Public discourse, including social media and opinion pieces, has linked this directly to her tenure, amplifying the “wasted” narrative. For instance, posts and articles describe it as a “debacle” under her watch, tying it to broader concerns about DepEd’s P12.3 billion in unsettled audit issues for 2023.

Vice President Sara Duterte responded to the PHP 12.3 billion in unsettled financial transactions flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) concerning the Department of Education (DepEd) under her tenure by stating that the issues would be addressed, emphasizing a commitment to resolving them and ensuring accountability. She attributed the delays to ongoing processes for resolving the transactions, which were reported to have grown from PHP 11.4 billion in 2022 to PHP 12.3 billion by the end of her term in June 2024.

Nasagot na yan hahahahaha for private matters tsismoso :joy::joy::joy:

Okay, walang pang direct response or public statement si Inday Lustay regarding dyan kahit sa mismong FB page. Saka bakit sasagutin nya yang in private? PRIVATE OFFICIAL ba siya? hahaha

Hahahahahahaha ayaw kasi ni inday sa tulad mong tsismoso :joy::joy::joy:

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Ang bobo naman niya, di na lang siya pumasok sa gobyerno kung ayaw niya accountability hahaha.

nasagot na hahahahahaha hindi mo nabasa or bobo kalang? :joy::joy::joy:

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Well, no sense rin makipag argue kung di naman existing yung public statement ni Inday Lustay from the beginning.

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Hahahahahaha tsismoso kalang e

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2017 - start of planning phase

September 2018 - start of phase 1 (software procurement)

December 2019 - start of phase 2 (hardware procurement)

naabutan lang ni Sara is second half of phase 2 which she terminates through partial termination of the whole project since phase 1 was never completed and phase 2 depends on phase 1 so phase 2 should be shut down

i don’t think nasa kay Sara ang bulk of the project, she is only shutting down the second half of phase 2, yun lang naabutan niya at saka poor planning lang naman ang findings, the procurement remains legit only that mali na pasimulan ang phase 2 without finishing phase 1