Army exec admits shock over DepEd using his docs to justify confi fund use

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Army (PA) official has admitted being shocked that the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte used his certification on an Army-funded youth summit to justify its confidential expenses.

At the resumption of Duterte’s impeachment trial on Tuesday, Col. Magtanggol Panopio gave this answer when asked by prosecution lawyer Reynaldo Robles and Presiding Officer Francis Escudero.

Robles and Escudero wanted to know what Panopio felt when he first learned that DepEd cited two anti-insurgency Army programs — the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) and the Information Education Communication (IEC).

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According to Panopio, he was stunned when he first heard about this — which was during an October 17, 2024 hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

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“Col. Panopio, the date of the hearing is October 17, 2024. So du’n nyo po nalaman na ginamit ‘yung inyong certification bilang isa sa mga liquidation documentations ng DepEd sa COA-AOM (Commission on Audit – Audit Observation Memorandum) […]. Did you have any reaction, Colonel, upon hearing or knowing that?” Escudero asked.

(Col. Panopio, the date of the hearing is October 17, 2024. So that is when you learned that you knew that your certification was used by DepEd as one of its liquidation documentations in reply to the COA-AOM (Commission on Audit – Audit Observation Memorandum). […] Did you have any reaction, Colonel, upon hearing or knowing that?)

“Du’n ko lang po formally nalaman ‘yung information na ‘yon, Your Honor […]. Medyo nagulat po kami,” Panopio admitted.

(That was only when I learned about that information, Your Honor […] We were a bit shocked.)

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When COA flagged the P15.54 million CF of DepEd in an AOM, the agency cited certifications from Panopio and other PA officials on the conduct of the YLS and IEC to prove the use of CFs.

But Panopio explained that his certification was only meant to show that the YLS was conducted by his division, the 7th Infantry Division of the PA, and not to indicate the movement of any public fund or money.

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“Kasi ‘yun pong aming certification is only for the certification that we conducted the Youth Leadership Summit. Hindi po namin sine-certify anything about money or funds, Your Honor,” he emphasized.

(Because our certification is only for the certification that we conducted the Youth Leadership Summit. We were not certifying anything about money or funds, Your Honor.)

However, Army Col. Manaros Boransing II also testified that he did not have any reaction when he learned about this matter, also during the October 2024 hearing of the committee on good government and public accountability.

Boransing claimed this is because they had more important things to do.

“Frankly, Sir, I did not have any reaction, Sir, because we conducted the Youth Leadership Summit, in coordination with the help of all the stakeholders, Sir, and we had our own problems in our area of operations (in) 2023,” he told the impeachment court.

“During that time, we just had a bombing in Marawi City. So frankly speaking, we had more — at least for us — more important things do, Sir,” Boransing claimed.

Both Panopio and Boransing testified before the Senate Impeachment Court that none of Duterte’s offices — whether it be DepEd, the Office of the Vice President (OVP), or the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group — had poured part of its regular allocations or CFs to the YLS and the IEC.

READ: Boransing insists: No Duterte offices’ funds in Army youth summits

These testimonies were similar to the answers made by Boransing and Panopio before the House panel, during its probe of alleged CF misuse within Duterte’s offices.

During that hearing, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro had observed that DepEd under the Duterte made it seem that they used their CF for the YLS and IEC, when it was actually the Army and local government units that shouldered the expenses.

Luistro eventually became the lead public prosecutor for the impeachment.

When Boransing said that they used their own funds, Luistro asked retired former Education Undersecretary and Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin if it is true that DepEd did not allocate funds for the YLS, since it is an AFP program.

Mempin replied in the affirmative.

Later in that House hearing, Luistro was able to elicit a confirmation from COA that the acknowledgement receipts used by DepEd to justify the P15 million CF pointed towards the YLS.  

However, DepEd labeled this disbursement as rewards to informers.

READ: DepEd under Duterte makes it seem it’s funding AFP training – solon

In an ambush interview earlier, counsel for the prosecution Lorna Kapunan admitted that the issues raised during the trial appear to be repetitive because the truth has not been changed.

READ: Kapunan: Impeachment issues repetitive because ‘truth is never new’

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But Kapunan stressed there is a need to discuss the matters before the Senate Impeachment Court as this is the real trial proper, and the House proceedings were just an inquiry in aid of legislation. /apl