GOVERNMENT auditors have flagged the Municipal School Board of Bamban, Tarlac, for failure to observe guidelines in the planning, budgeting, and reporting requirements for its Special Education Fund in 2024.
A 12-page Compliance Audit on Bamban released by the COA on July 16, 2025 disclosed that the SEF budget was approved only by the chairperson and co-chairperson of the Municipal School Board, a violation of the Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2017 issued by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Under Item 5.4 of the said Joint Circular, it is mandatory that the SEF Budget be approved by “the chair, co-chair and majority of all its members.”. This rule also finds support in Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code.
The SEF budget approval likewise missed the October 31, 2023 deadline by almost two months as shown by the Municipal School Board Resolution No. 02-2023 signed on December 12, 2023.
Auditors also found inadequate presentation of proposed expenditures, non-formulation of the three-year program of strategic prioritization for funding allocation, non-submission of the annual utilization report and incomplete posting of the SEF utilization information.
“The lapses constitute a violation of the DepEd-DBM-DILG JC No. 1, s. 2017 and contradict the circular’s mandate to ensure a more strategic and efficient use of the funds,” the COA said.
On-site inspection by the audit team showed that the SEF utilization report was only posted up to the third quarter of 2024 on the Municipal Hall Bulletin Board. It was also not uploaded on the LGU website, denying the public access to the details on how the SEF was being used.
Municipal officials said the job of updating the posts on SEF utilization was entrusted to one personnel of the municipal government rather than the members of the MSB, who have all cited “demanding workload.”
In response to the audit findings, the MSB co-chairpersons promised that they will address the lapses and comply in full with the requirements in the Joint Circular.
