Briones won’t allow anomalies in DepEd: Palace

FILE: To provide relevant information and updates on the implementation of DepEd’s Last Mile Schools program, Education chief Leonor Magtolis Briones spearheaded a press conference today, July 18, in Pasig City. (Photo: Department of Education – Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Malacañang expressed confidence that Secretary Leonor Briones would never allow anomalies within the Department of Education (DepEd), amid issues hounding the agency in relation to error-filled textbooks amounting to millions of pesos.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged DepEd’s procurement of PHP254 million worth of Grade 3 textbooks which were riddled with grammatical and factual errors.

“As far as I know, the Secretary of Education is a very competent, intelligent educator,” Panelo said in a media interview on Monday.

“She is someone who will never allow any irregularity or anomaly inside her department,” he added.

In its report, the COA said the existence of error-filled learning materials is an indication that the meticulous checking, review, and evaluation processes of the manuscripts were not undertaken by the concerned bureaus before mass production.

It urged the DepEd to evaluate the errors in the learning materials and correct those circulating in public schools.

The COA also found that the DepEd failed to distribute learning materials worth PHP113.7 million, which were procured from 2014 up to 2017 but remain unused in warehouses.

Last week, the DepEd explained that the findings in the 2018 COA report stemmed from “late updating of consolidated reports and reconciliation of voluminous records with implementing units.”

DepEd said it will also comply with the COA’s recommendations.

The agency also vowed to revisit existing DepEd guidelines on the procurement of learning materials and evaluate the control on the buffer stock.

Meanwhile, the Senate is set to conduct a probe on the error-filled textbooks and idle learning materials.

The DepEd gets the biggest share of the national budget as part of government’s plan to offer free tertiary education and build more classrooms nationwide.