FORMER national security adviser Clarita Carlos said during her early days in office that agriculture and food production are important aspects of national security. Nobody will argue with her on this, as any nation gives premium on food security of its people.
Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte, meanwhile, affirmed that “education is intertwined with national security.” This is also correct because the country’s security at present, and most specially that in the future, are dependent in part on the knowledge and skills of its citizens.
VP Duterte uttered the statement as she defended before reporters the Department of Education’s request, for the second year in a row, for P150 million in confidential funds under its proposed 2024 budget of P758.59 billion.
“It’s very important that we mold children who are patriotic; children who will love our country and who will defend our country,” Sara Duterte said.
‘If approved, the important thing is for the DepEd to follow the 2015 circular on the disposition of confidential funds, since no detailed explanations are required or forthcoming for something “confidential.”’
The way we understand it, the regular budget of DepEd is for construction of classrooms and other facilities, salaries of teachers, equipment purchases, etc. The confidential funds, meanwhile, will be used by the department to handle problems in areas other than classroom instruction.
Last year, VP Duterte justified her request for confidential funds by listing some of the problems faced by DepEd and students such as illegal drugs, recruitment by insurgent groups, as well as terrorism and violent extremism.
In her own words, “very good surveillance and intelligence” were necessary to come up with solutions and ensure the success of the department’s projects and programs. This means confidential funds would be used to collect information on illegal recruitment in schools and stop such activities.
The Vice President’s personal advocacy to frustrate the efforts of the enemies of the state, whether communist rebels or some other rebels, again drew violent reactions from leftist lawmakers.
Rep. France Castro asked if DepEd had become a “police or military agency that was conducting surveillance on students and teachers” while others in her group proposed that the funds be used to build more classrooms or to increase the budget of the early child care development program.
VP Duterte is unfazed, and maintained that she has submitted her proposed budget and it is up to Congress to act on it, favorably or not. If approved, the important thing is for the DepEd to follow the 2015 circular on the disposition of confidential funds, since no detailed explanations are required or forthcoming for something “confidential.”
