The Department of Education (DepEd) has filed criminal cases against seven private schools that allegedly claimed funds for “ghost” beneficiaries in the senior high school voucher program. According to Education Secretary Sonny Angara, the cases have been filed with the prosecutor’s office and demand letters have been sent to the schools.
The total amount involved in the fraud reached ₱61.9 million. According to the DepEd, the cases include estafa through falsification of documents and violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
There is a possibility that more schools will be charged because there are other cases being investigated by the legal department of DepEd.
Last July, DepEd also filed charges against several school officials involved in the same issue. In addition, the agency has recovered more than ₱100 million from fake and false claims, including ₱65 million refunded from 54 schools that were removed from the program.
Based on the DepEd investigation, they failed to provide subsidies amounting to ₱200 million for almost 22,000 ghost students during the 2023–2024 school year.
