The Commission on Audit gave the Department of Education (DepEd) an "unmodified opinion" in 2023, the last full year of Vice President Sara Duterte as head of the agency, despite some accounting deficiencies, Secretary Sonny Angara told senators Tuesday.
During the hearing, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros cited COA's annual audit report on DepEd, noting over P229 billion in accounting deficiencies.
"If these are correct, nakakalula ang bilyon o milyong pisong halaga na hindi nagamit nang husto at wasto," Hontiveros said.
Angara explained the amount was related to construction of new school buildings and was being remedied in the books.
"This amount you stated reflects the recording of property, plant and equipment under the school building program... Which should have been included in DepEd's accounts when the completed buildings were turned over. So there's currently a reconciliation between DPWH and DepEd's accountants ongoing for journal entries in the books of both departments," Angara said.
He added that COA found no material misstatements from DepEd.
"Despite these accounting deficiencies, the COA issued an unmodified opinion indicating DepEd's financial statements are free from material misstatements and comply with international standards and DepEd is holding regular quarterly financial reconciliation workshops with division and regional accountants," Angara noted.
Earlier in the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino asked Angara about 1.5 million unused laptops.
Angara said the undelivered units dated back to the time of Secretary Leonor Briones, which he explained were undelivered because of logistics issues. Angara said they had since shipped out the units.
The Deped is seeking P793.18 billion for 2025.
