EDUCATION Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara warned fraudsters that the Department of Education (DepEd) is bolstering its anti-fraud measures and legal prosecution to eliminate non-existent beneficiaries and ensure public funds reach deserving learners.
Angara said that the department has intensified its crackdown on fraudulent subsidy claims while rolling out major reforms under DepEd Order 11, series of 2026, which updated the Enhanced Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-Gastpe) framework.
‘We are closing the systemic loopholes that unscrupulous individuals have taken advantage of in the past,’ Angara said. ‘Intentional fraud against our voucher program is a crime against Filipino families. To anyone trying to cheat the system, DepEd will not hesitate to prosecute you.’
The crackdown has already produced legal results. In July, a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Metro Manila convicted a scammer and sentenced the perpetrator to over 14 years in prison along with a P100,000 fine for submitting fake billing statements. DepEd affirmed that it continues to pursue criminal cases and formal complaints against erring private school administrators and former personnel involved in fraudulent claims.
Under the newly ratified Basic Education Voucher Assistance measure, filing false voucher claims will be criminally prosecuted as estafa under the Revised Penal Code, carrying mandatory fund restitution and fines of up to P500,000.
To catch non-existent beneficiaries and invalid billings before funds are released, DepEd is enforcing a rigorous five-layer billing validation process. DepEd Order 11, s. 2026, fortified operational safeguards across the Senior High School Voucher Program to prevent, detect, and address invalid claims throughout the entire program cycle.
Through these tightened controls, DepEd successfully withheld over P238 million in suspicious billings during School Year 2025-2026 and recovered P79.1 million in refunds from non-compliant schools.
Angara emphasized that these structural reforms directly fulfill President Marcos’ directive to ease financial burdens on Filipino families while broadening access to quality education.
‘Our mandate from President Marcos is to ensure every peso of government assistance delivers real value to our people,’ Angara added. ‘By cleaning up our registries and strengthening our validation, we are protecting the integrity of the voucher program so that support reaches the learners and families who rely on it.’
Once enacted, the Basic Education Voucher Assistance bill will extend tuition assistance beyond lower-income brackets to include middle-middle-income families. The program will also expand coverage to elementary learners (Kindergarten to Grade 6) starting in School Year 2027-2028. This initial expansion targets over 292,000 elementary learners and nearly 18,000 private school teachers, backed by an initial proposed allocation of P4.34 billion across 2,632 participating private schools.
To maintain strong long-term oversight over participating private educational institutions, the expanded voucher framework also establishes a dedicated Bureau of Private Education within DepEd.