MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) insisted that it is actively investigating the irregularities tied to the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP)—a controversy that happened under the watch of its former leadership.

Speaking at a post-SONA forum in San Juan City, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department has started putting reforms in place to plug loopholes that allowed private schools to milk the government’s multi-billion peso subsidy system.

Palace Press Officer and DepEd Undersecretary Claire Castro earlier praised the department for retrieving around ₱65 million from 40 out of 54 private institutions tagged for questionable billing practices from school years 2021–2022 and 2022–2023.

But Angara was quick to up the ante. “Hindi lang ₱65 (million pesos), parang mas malaki pa yata. Parang nasa ₱100 (million pesos) na yata eh,” he said, hinting at an even deeper hole than initially reported.

He added that the department had not only filed civil cases to retrieve the funds, but also pursued criminal charges to make sure those involved “learn their lesson.”

“Hindi dapat pinaglalaruan ‘yung sistema,” Angara said, pointing out that every peso funneled to ghost students or dubious institutions was money taken away from real learners.

The program, which funnels state subsidies to students attending private senior high schools, is a key component of DepEd’s efforts to expand access to education—but one that has apparently been vulnerable to abuse.

Angara noted that the program now involves close to ₱50 billion in public funds. “Mataas ang halaga ng pinag-uusapan dito… ito ay future ng mga kabataan natin.”

While the cleanup continues, Angara made sure to express gratitude to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the department is grateful to have a leader who values education.