‘COA can audit private educ assistance panel’

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THE Department of Justice has held that the Commission on Audit can conduct an audit on the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) even though it told the Department of Education that the latter is neither an agency, committee, or instrumentality within the purview of the Administrative Code and remains a private entity.

This was contained in a legal opinion dated September 24 rendered by Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez based on a request of Education Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs Omar Romero.

Romero specifically asked the DOJ’s legal opinion on the legal personality of PEAC, specifically on whether it is a public instrumentality or a private body.

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In his letter-request, Romero cited a February 2020 memorandum of then Education Secretary Leonor Briones and a September 2022 letter of Vice President and then Education chief Sara Duterte to Malacañang explaining the department’s position that PEAC is a public instrumentality.

Romero also stated that PEAC, being a government instrumentality, emanates from its creation by an executive order as a committee under the Office of the President.

But the DOJ disagreed and said that after a review of laws and jurisprudence, PEAC is a private entity, adding it was created to administer, manage and supervise the operations of the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) which was set aside from the Special Fund for Education authorized by United States Public Law 88-94 in 1968 pursuant to a project agreement executed by Manila and Washington.

The DOJ said previous legal opinions it rendered on January 14 and 16, 1969 clearly held that the PEAC may not be considered as a government agency or instrumentality, and its members are not public officers within the scope of the Civil Service Law and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

It added that FAPE is in the nature of foreign aid subject to conditions of the grant and is clearly not part of the public or government funds of the Philippine treasury.

“Accordingly, in line with this Department’s prior opinions, PEAC is neither a committee, agency or instrumentality within the purview of the Administrative Code and other relevant laws,” the DOJ legal opinion said.

It further said that even the ex officio membership and representation of the DepEd chief and the National Economic and Development Authority in PEAC also “does not negate its private nature,” considering that private sector members constitute the majority of the committee, and their majority vote as private sector representatives is sufficient to carry decisions of PEAC as the trustee.

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