MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) committed on Tuesday, September 29, to re-examine flagged student accounts and retrieve confirmed overpayments within its Senior High School Voucher Program following a report from the Commission on Audit (COA) highlighting ₱938,000 in excess disbursements.
According to the 2025 COA audit published on September 23, proper eligibility could not be verified for 58 beneficiaries—categorized as dropouts, transferred students, non-enrollees, deceased learners, or chronic absentees—due to inadequate supporting documentation.
In response, DepEd clarified that verification mechanisms for the recent academic term have already concluded.
“As part of its 5-layer validation, DepEd, through its co-manager of the Senior High School Voucher Program, Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), has completed its School Year 2025-2026 validation. Through this year-end validation, flagged cases are being reviewed and confirmed overpayments will be recovered,” DepEd said in a statement.
The agency noted that updated regulations issued in April 2026 under the Education Service Contracting and Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) Guidelines have introduced stricter rules regarding beneficiary checks, billing procedures, refund tracking, and overall institutional accountability.
Oversight is actively maintained by the department’s Government Assistance and Subsidies Service (GASS) to ensure private school compliance.
DepEd further emphasized that legal actions have been taken in past instances of fraud. Notably, an NCR Regional Trial Court convicted an individual in July 2026 for attempting to siphon funds from the voucher system using fake billing records.
“DepEd will continue to pursue accountability and the recovery of government funds where warranted,” the department said.