DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 06 September) – “It’s not an option,” Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal said of  proposals urging him to take a leave of absence while the Commission on Audit (COA) is conducting its special audit on the alleged anomalous P2.2 billion transactions in his office – the  Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) – including nearly P1.8B disbursed in one day. 

“Siempre I will not (file a leave),” he told MindaNews in a text message Saturday afternoon, as he dismissed anew the alleged anomalous transactions as a “demolition” job by his critics. 

“That is more demolition operation,” he told MindaNews last week in response to reports on the COA special audit.

“Escorted by Marines, police, and other security forces in what was criticized as ‘overkill,’  the special audit team arrived in Cotabato City Friday morning to collect documents at the MBHTE office.  Iqbal told MindaNews on Saturday that the heavy security presence was “psywar ops” by those behind the move. He did not identify who.  

On Friday, lawyer Rasol Mitmug, chair of the Bangsamoro Parliament’s Blue Ribbon Committee which is also investigating the alleged anomalies, called on Iqbal last Friday to take an “indefinite leave of absence” to allow COA to freely conduct its investigation. Taking a leave, he said, would be a “crucial step to protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure there is no influence or obstruction of the audit process.”

Iqbal is also a Member of Parliament 

Mitmug said Iqbal replied that he would consider the advice. But Iqbal told MindaNews on Saturday that taking a leave “is not an option.”

Mitmug on Sunday said “sinabi lang naman nya pag-isipan niya” (he just said he will think about it). 

But Mitmug said he urged Iqbal to take a leave also to ensure that he can focus on this major issue considering that moral governance is what the BARMM aims for. 

“Moral governance” was spelled out by MILF chair Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim at the inaugural session of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in March 2019. 

“I stand for the Bangsamoro, hindi para sa isang tao o group, at sana yang (not just for one person or a group, and I hope that with) moral governance, we walk the talk,” Mitmug said. 

Mitmug said his committee took jurisdiction motu propio because of the reports coming in about the alleged anomalies and to ensure accountability measures are in place in the BARMM. 

The MBHTE is supposed to submit on September 10 documents that his committee asked.   

MBHTE Director General Abdullah “Jun” Salik said the documents were handed over smoothly, but he expressed shock at the number of security personnel deployed. 

“It was overkill, it was shocking and alarming to see so many police and Marines” Salik said in an interview after meeting with top officials of the ministry.

Iqbal was in Manila on Friday, donning his other hats as chair of the MILF peace implementing panel and co-chair of the GPH-MILF Intergovernmental Relations Body. Iqbal is also a Member of Parliament. 

Lt Col Jopy Ventura, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office in the BARMM, said the security forces were there to ensure the safety of the auditors.

“Our troops are always there to provide security for this kind of thing, that’s also part of their area of responsibility,”  he said. 

On August 11, the Commission on Audit (COA)  ordered a special audit on “alleged anomalous disbursements.” 

Gamaliel Cordoba, chair of the Commission on Audit (COA) informed BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua in a letter dated August 11, that they received formal complaints filed against Iqbal about the “alleged anomalous disbursements” of  PhP1.77 billion payment made by the MBHTE in a single day and P449.2 million payment issued to a single supplier “under questionable circumstances.” 

He said initial review “by the relevant COA offices” indicates that the complaints “merit the conduct of a special audit.” 

The first complaint, which drew attention to P1.77 billion in payments made in one day  — on Friday, March 7, 2025 — was allegedly for Learners’ and Teachers’ Kits. 

The spending allegedly bypassed the scrutiny and signatures of the finance division, which serves as a safeguard to ensure legality, completeness, and compliance with government regulations.

The MBHTE has the largest budget allocation in the BARMM, amounting to over P36 billion, or nearly one-third of the regional government’s spending. 

The second complaint focuses on P449 million in payments made to a supplier under what COA has termed as “questionable circumstances.”

Among the country’s 18 regions, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that  BARMM had the “highest proportion of individuals aged 5 years and over who cannot read and write,” at 14.4 percent.  This is based on the result of the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) which PSA released on June 30 this year. 

The MBHTE, which has been under Iqbal since February 2019,  has been plagued by corruption accusations, including claims of selling teaching items to aspiring teachers. 

The results of the audit are expected to determine if the alleged irregularities will become the basis for filing administrative or criminal cases.

“Demolition job”

Iqbal, who also chairs the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, dismissed the allegations as a “demolition” job by his critics. 

“That is more demolition operation,” he told MindaNews last week. 

In a statement on June 10, Iqbal denied the alleged anomalies, claiming that all their transactions “undergo strict internal and external controls.” 

He claimed the MBHTE procurement process is “transparent, accountable and consistently subjected to post-audit by the COA” and that allegations about a P.17B transaction carried out in a single day without appropriate review and sign-off are “grossly misleading and ignore the layered controls within our financial systems.”

He said all deliveries of procured items are inspected and documented in the presence of the MBHTE inspectorate team and the COA representatives. 

A group of unnamed individuals, who identified themselves as MBHTE insiders, had claimed that the agency’s procurement process was manipulated to favor the relatives of certain high-ranking officials, and they called on the Office of the President and the COA to investigate. 

Iqbal said there is “no truth” that relatives of officials have interfered in procurement or program implementation. “No person outside of official authority can override decisions that undergo proper procurement and planning,” he added.  (Carolyn O. Arguillas with a report from Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/MindaNews)