Over ₱1.6 billion in unpaid teacher loan collections are filed by AMA Bank against DepEd in criminal charges

Alleging that the Department of Education (DepEd) and some officials unlawfully withheld more than ₱1.6 billion in loan repayments collected from public school teachers, AMA Rural Bank of Mandaluyong (ARB) has filed a criminal complaint against them with the Office of the Ombudsman.  Prior to this, ARB, a lending organization with DepEd accreditation, offered these loans.

Named as respondents in the ARB complaint were Usec. for Finance Annalyn M. Sevilla, Asec. for Finance Edson Byron K. Sy, Usec. for Legal and Legislative Affairs Filemon Ray L. Javier, and Chief Administrative Officer Cholita F. Tiong. 

According to ARB, DepEd admitted to receiving at least ₱1.015 billion by the end of 2024 after a protracted accounting reconciliation process, with an additional ₱676 million still under scrutiny.  DepEd hasn't sent the funds to ARB, meanwhile, claiming that there are still unresolved legal matters related to the BSP's illegal shutdown of ARB in November 2019.  ARB contends that the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals have already decided these instances in its favor.

ARB claims that DepEd breaches the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by refusing to transfer the money, even after subtracting its 1% service fee.  The bank also asserts that since DepEd was not involved in the BSP-related proceedings and the court decisions in favor of ARB are already final and executory, DepEd cannot use them as a justification for withholding making payments.

The complaint raises more general issues with DepEd's management of payroll remittances and deductions.  According to a 2024 report by the Commission on Audit (COA), DepEd neglected to send ₱3.1 billion in loan installments and GSIS contributions.  COA discovered that DepEd had also neglected to pay ₱5.55 billion in taxes, insurance premiums, and loan payments that were withheld from both teaching and non-teaching employees a year prior.  Recently, DepEd was also embroiled in a controversy about the dubious purchase of antiquated and expensive laptops.

According to ARB, the case is a part of its efforts to recoup assets, compensate depositors, and hold public authorities responsible for mismanaging the bank's finances during the illegal closure that was ordered by the BSP.