The Commission on Audit (COA) finds that some beneficiaries listed under the Department of Education (DepEd) senior high school voucher program for school year 2025–26 cannot be verified, leading to an overpayment of P938,000 in government assistance. COA identifies the issue through its compliance audit of voucher program beneficiaries under the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) program.
COA says it cannot confirm the existence of certain beneficiaries because they appear to have dropped out, transferred to other schools, did not enroll for the second semester, were reportedly deceased, or lacked available school records. The audit indicates these cases prevent auditors from validating that the assistance was owed to legitimate, active students for the covered period.
Both outlets report the same core finding: “unverifiable” beneficiaries are linked to the stated overpayment. The main difference is in emphasis—one outlet frames the beneficiaries as “unverified,” while the other uses the term “unverifiable”—but neither provides additional, contrasting details beyond COA’s assessment.
