The Department of Education (DepEd) has doubled its funding to P1.692 billion in 2022 from P805.092 million in 2021, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

Based on COA's report, the agency's travel expenses abroad increased to P8.697 million from P747,815.28 million.

State auditors also criticized the procurement process for milk and other nutritious products for students, including Enhanced Nutribun or E-Nutribun, which totaled P60.899 million.

According to COA's report, DepEd's Regional Office of Ilocos Norte purchased P2.175 million worth of E-Nutribun and Brown Rice Nutty Fruity Bars that were replaced by the supplier of Calabasas E-Nutribun.

State auditors further revealed that deficiencies in the procurement process cast doubt on transparency and the bidding process.

A copy of the COA report was already sent on July 27, 2023, to the office of Vice President Sara Duterte, who also acts as the DepEd Secretary.

In this regard, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro said that the Vice President may be held responsible if it is proven that she committed many violations in the use of P125 million confidential funds in 2022.

"We will ask about this. The Vice President needs to explain how she could incur obligations amounting to P125 million in confidential expenses in the last six months of 2022 despite the fact that her office has no congressional authorization to do so for that year," Castro said.

"Without such authorization, the strict rule prohibiting public disclosure of the use of confidential funds does not apply in this case. Therefore, we ask that the OVP provide a detailed public accounting of how the P125 million was spent," he added.

Castro said Congress has no authorization for the use of Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIF) for the office of the Vice President under the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

He said former Vice President Leni Robredo neither asked for nor was given a CIF in her office in 2022.