EDITORIAL - “Confidential funds” for DepEd

The Office of the Vice President recently got a whopping P500 million in confidential funds. We say whopping because the previous office handled by former vice president Leni Robredo received nothing in the way of such funds.

But let us let that be. As the second-highest official of the land, Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio is technically the president-in-waiting and is entitled to some leeway where securing her office is concerned.

However, the Department of Education, which also happens to be under Vice President Carpio, got P150 million in confidential funds as well. And this is where it can get confusing.

Does DepEd have need for such a confidential fund? Vice President Carpio said the funds again for DepEd, and not the Office of the Vice President will be used for “surveillance and intelligence”. While intelligence is something DepEd should strive to cultivate and improve among students and teachers, we are sure that this isn’t the type of intelligence she is looking for.

Conducting surveillance and gathering intelligence means keeping tabs on people and what they are doing. This is something usually within the ambit of security forces and law enforcement agencies, and also regularly conducted against those who are considered criminals or even enemies of the state.

Is DepEd considering widening the scope of its responsibilities to include law enforcement, or is it just considering spying on teachers and students? Either thing can be considered irregular, and the granting of the confidential funds should not have been allowed.

The amount of P150 million, may not sound like much in today’s inflation-riddled economy, but it can be a lifesaver for other projects. It can still be of big help if it were realigned somewhere else. It really doesn’t even have to leave DepEd, it can just be earmarked for something else other than “surveillance and intelligence”.

We know that after being elected, Vice President Carpio wanted the Department of National Defense portfolio. But President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. saw it fit to give her DepEd instead. Could it be that she has confused the two portfolios?

Unlikely. But someone ought to tell her that “surveillance and intelligence” are not part of her job in DepEd.