DURING THE last two weeks of November of this year, the schools under the Archdiocese of San Fernando Educational System (ASFES) were under the scrutiny of external auditors for the third quarter of the year.
Started in 2018 after the establishment of the ASFES in 2017, this regular practice reflects the collective commitment of the archdiocesan schools to foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and financial responsibility.
It was also about this time in November when the ongoing congressional probe into the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under VP Sarah Duterte has opened not just a can, but a barrel of worms which attracted so much national and global attention for all the wrong reasons.
While we are referring to the same procedure that is grounded on generally accepted accounting principles and aimed to attain common objectives, the stark contrast is simply too obvious.
As far as the amount of money involved, we are talking about an annual operating budget of less than P3 million for the smallest school, to less than P100 million for the biggest school in terms of student population. Compared to the annual budget of both government offices, or even to the confidential funds in question, ours is a pittance.
In terms of accountability and the systems in place to ensure transparency, the difference couldn’t be as glaring as night and day, or summer and winter.
During the first two years of our regular external audit, we all found ourselves delving into the financial side of school operations, ensuring that safety nets and controls were in place to prevent any form of loss whether material, monetary, or even the trust and confidence of both our internal and external stakeholders.
The ASFES schools, like most private schools in the country, operate on funds generated primarily from tuition and other school fees, bookstore and canteen sales and in some cases, private donations. We continue to adhere to strict financial auditing procedures and ensure that every centavo received or disbursed is accounted for with meticulous care. At the same time, the funds are allocated specifically to what they are intended for and in a manner that is anchored on the ASFES core values of faith, service, and excellence.
That is why it puzzles me to say the least when some people could not or would not care to see the wisdom behind the ongoing investigation on the OVP and DepEd’s confidential funds, and dismiss it simply as another well-orchestrated political attack on the Vice President. Don’t they care at all how public funds are spent by the second highest official in the executive branch?
We are talking about public funds here, collected from hard-earned taxpayers’ money. As clearly explained by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop, the offenses reportedly committed by several officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd related to the confidential funds would constitute to graft and corruption if the public funds were misused or misappropriated or worse, if they were diverted to personal use or benefit. Considering the mount involved, it would also constitute plunder.
Over the years, the ASFES schools have made it clear that the transparency of the regular audits is not simply to fulfil a legal obligation; it is also to embrace a deep-rooted culture of integrity. Similarly, our annual operating budget along with our monthly, quarterly, and annual budget performance reports are presented to our stakeholders and readily available for public scrutiny.
This should remind all government offices, including those of the President and Vice President, to always operate within a framework where accountability and transparency are non-negotiable. These two are not mere concepts or formalities which they vow to advocate, but the very foundation of responsible and pro-people governance. Most of the time the government has to take its cue from private institutions such as the ASFES schools – the responsible management of our resources is always a priority not just for the sake of legal compliance, but for the trust of the very people we serve.
