MANILA — An Army unit that helped the Department of Education (DepEd) conduct youth leadership seminars in Mindanao in 2023 received no funds from the agency, a military officer testified Tuesday in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Col. Manaros Boransing II, appearing as a prosecution witness on the 20th day of the Senate impeachment proceedings, said his unit worked with DepEd in conducting eight Youth Leadership Seminars (YLS) in several Mindanao provinces but had no knowledge of how the education agency financed the activities.
“There were no DepEd funds downloaded to our unit,” Boransing said.
“I have no knowledge on [DepEd’s] source of funds. I can only speak for us,” he added.
Duterte-Carpio served as education secretary when the activities were conducted.
Boransing said DepEd provided the military with information on participating schools and students’ schedules to help organize the seminars.
His testimony also touched on certifications he issued in January 2024 at the request of then-DepEd Undersecretary Michael Poa, who is now part of Duterte-Carpio’s defense team in the impeachment trial.
Poa sought the certifications after state auditors requested supporting documents concerning DepEd’s reported use of ₱15.5 million in confidential funds for payments to informants.
Boransing testified that he did not know his certification would later be presented in connection with DepEd’s confidential fund expenditures.
“I have no knowledge of that. I haven’t even read COA (Commission on Audit) documents,” he said.
Asked how he reacted upon learning about the use of his certification, Boransing said he had no objection.
“I did not have any reaction,” Boransing said.
Prosecutors also asked whether he would have issued the same certification had he known beforehand that DepEd would use it to support its ₱15.54-million confidential fund spending.
Boransing declined to say what he would have done under those circumstances.
“It is hard to speculate what I would have done,” Boransing added.
Boransing’s testimony forms part of the House prosecution panel’s presentation of evidence in the impeachment case against Duterte-Carpio, which includes allegations involving her use of confidential funds while serving as education secretary./PN
