WITH the way “ghosts” are turning up in many places, we might as well be called a nation of ghosts.
First, there’s the ghost employees. These are the sinecures or worse, genuinely non-existent individuals, who are on the payroll of many government offices, both local and national.
These persons are accommodated by the heads of these agencies often to pay for political and other favors. But there are any number of reasons their names pad the payrolls, and these reasons are patently illegal. In fact, the Office of the Ombudsman in tandem with the Sandiganbayan has ousted several mayors and city councilors exactly for the offense of having “ghost employees.”
And then, there are also ghost purchases. Millions of pesos of public funds are lost in overpricing of government supplies and service contracts. Sometimes, this buying racket shifts to the maximal — the government pays for something not bought or received. The purchase transaction is fiction, and some officials are lining their pockets.
‘Lest we be fully desensitized by official corruption, it is time to be aware of a new form of ghost transaction…’
Lest we be fully desensitized by official corruption, it is time to be aware of a new form of ghost transaction, this time happening in the education sector, of all places.
On the initiative of vloggers and concerned teachers and principals, the Department of Education (DepEd) has been made aware of the ghost students scandal using the Senior High School (SHS) Voucher Program. This was first made public by a principal in Pangasinan.
Now the DepEd Central Office is investigating the alleged presence of ghost students under the voucher program in 12 private schools across nine divisions. The voucher program which was launched in 2015 provides subsidies directly to private schools for qualified Grade 11 and 12 students who would otherwise be unable to afford private education.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the DepEd is taking swift action to preserve the integrity of its funds and program implementation. In fact, he has prevented the release of over P52 million to a dozen private schools which submitted fraudulent claims.
The department is conducting a thorough investigation into personnel and officials who may be involved in this fraudulent activity. If found guilty, these schools’ participation in the Senior High School Voucher Program would be discontinued.
At a hearing of the House committee on basic education, the DepEd said 55 schools have been terminated from the SHS voucher program in the last three school years.
The schools’ violations include students absent during verification visits, beneficiaries listed under incorrect campuses, students who have not been attending classes since the beginning of the semester, and students being billed across multiple schools simultaneously.
“We take these allegations seriously. Any form of misuse of public funds intended for critical education programs will not be tolerated,” said Angara.
Since education authorities are first and foremost the officials who mold the character of the youth and inspire them to become good and honest citizens, it behooves Angara and the DepEd to sanction all those culpable of wrongdoing in the department’s various programs, not just the SHS voucher program.
