The Commission on Audit’s (COA) special fraud audit has laid bare what can only be called massive corruption in the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) under Minister Mohagher Iqbal.
Over P2.2 billion intended for learning materials in BARMM has been mired in questionable transactions, procedural lapses, and outright violations of procurement law.
The Special Audit Team (SAT) focused on two alarming disbursements: P1.77 billion in textbooks released in a single day and P449 million to a lone supplier for Learner’s and Teacher’s Kits.
Both cases bypassed standard reviews, flouting the Government Procurement Reform Act and its implementing rules.
Seventy-three disbursement vouchers totaling P2.247 billion were paid based solely on internal certifications, without proper documentation, putting government funds at grave risk.
The audit also uncovered material defects in 53 contracts valued at nearly P2 billion.
Joint Ventures were misrepresented, contracts executed without required performance securities, and liquidated damages of over P16 million were ignored despite a 520-day delay in delivering primary school armchairs.
In short, MBHTE officials certified and approved payments as if rules were optional.
These failures are not abstract. BARMM’s education sector is already struggling, with classrooms lacking resources and students facing daily obstacles to learning.
Yet billions meant to support them were mishandled, delayed, or lost in a web of procedural shortcuts.
Leadership cannot hide behind bureaucracy. The patterns revealed by the COA are not isolated errors—they are systemic, reckless, and morally indefensible.
Autonomy in BARMM promised closer, more accountable governance. Under this scandal, that promise rings hollow.
The urgent question is not technical—it is moral: will those responsible face consequences, or will public trust continue to be sacrificed for convenience and impunity?
