MBHTE provides Learners’ Kits and Teachers’ Kits totally for free
BARMM Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal. (Photo: SDN)
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-PAv
COTABATO CITY, June 11, 2025 — Allegations of irregularities in the procurement of Learners’ Kits and Teachers’ Kits by the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) are not true, Bangsamoro Education Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal emphasized.
The MBHTE, one of the 15 primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which was established in January 2019 to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), issued the statement published on its Facebook page.
“We categorically deny that the Ministry’s procurement activities, including the acquisition of Learners’ Kits and Teachers’ Kits, were irregular or circumvented existing processes,” the MBHTE official says as he debunked to the allegations made online.
He stress the ministry’s strict compliance with “internal and external controls, in full compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (as amended by R.A. 12009), its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and pertinent issuances from the Commission on Audit (COA).”
Here’s the MBHTE’s statement in full:
“The Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) strongly denies the allegations recently circulating online regarding purported anomalous transactions within the Ministry.
“We categorically deny that the Ministry’s procurement activities, including the acquisition of Learners’ Kits and Teachers’ Kits, were irregular or circumvented existing processes. All our transactions undergo strict internal and external controls, in full compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act (as amended by R.A. 12009), its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and pertinent issuances from the Commission on Audit (COA).
“The MBHTE procurement process is transparent, accountable, and consistently subjected to post-audit by the COA. Claims that a P1.7 billion transaction was carried out in a single day without appropriate review and sign-off are grossly misleading and ignore the layered controls within our financial systems.
“Nonetheless, we take seriously the allegation that Learners’ and Teachers’ Kits are allegedly being sold to our teachers. Such acts, if true, are reprehensible and run contrary to the very mission of this Ministry. We are now initiating an internal fact-finding investigation to verify these claims. Rest assured, we will not hesitate to hold any individual accountable, regardless of rank or affiliation, should wrongdoing be established.
“Furthermore, there is no truth that any individual, including relatives of officials, has interfered in procurement or program implementation. No person outside of official authority can override decisions that undergo proper procurement and planning.
“Finally, the MBHTE remains committed to its mandate of providing quality, inclusive, and accountable education services to the Bangsamoro people. We urge the public and the media to remain discerning and to seek clarification directly from concerned offices before drawing conclusions based on unverified reports.” (/)
(√)