COA: OVER P2B IN IRREGULARITIES IN BARMM LEARNING MATERIALS PROCUREMENT UNCOVERED IN SPECIAL AUDIT

THE Commission on Audit-Special Audit Team (COA-SAT) has found widespread irregularities and violations of the law in the procurement of learning materials worth P2.2 billion by the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

According to the audit findings, the procurement was conducted under the leadership of Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal, where various violations of existing procurement laws and regulations were identified.

The special fraud audit was conducted on the orders of COA chairman Gamaliel Cordoba since August last year after news broke and complaints were filed against MBHTE officials regarding two alleged cases of anomalous use of BARMM funds amounting to P2,221,488,155.57.

The first case concerns the payment for textbooks for grade schools in 2025-2025 which amounted to P1,772,251,519.17. The second is the suspicious payment made to a supplier, FEJA Non-Specialized Wholesale Trading, for Learner’s and Teacher’s Kits worth P449,236,636.20.

The transactions in question allegedly did not undergo standard reviews and were in violation of procurement laws and auditing procedures.

Based on the fraud investigation, 73 disbursement vouchers (DVs) for the procurement of learning materials amounting to P2,247,023,709.80 were paid based only on certifications made by MBHTE officials and staff despite the lack of procurement documents under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The transactions were certified by the chief of the Finance Division and the supplier was paid in full, which also had the “blessing” of the Minister or Deputy Minister.

“Due to the certifications made, the transactions were paid despite non-submission of the standard supporting documents, to the disadvantage of the government,” the SAT report said.

“Failure to submit comments within the prescribed period shall constrain the SAT to finalize its findings based on the available records,” according to the COA.