By Dhel Nazario
Senator-judge Robin Padilla on Wednesday, August 5, linked the Department of Education (DepEd), in charge of basic education in the Philippines from kindergarten up to senior high school, to back his claim of communist recruitment from universities.
Padilla said this during his questioning of former Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Roderick Wamil in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Alam naman po natin na ang DepEd, diyan po nanggagaling ang tinatawag naming sa Communist Party po, meron po kasing pangkat-gerilya at pangkat-political. Yung pangkat-political, yan po yung mga estudyante na nagagaling sa unibersidad,” Padilla said.
The senator-judge first asked Wamil whether he believed confidential funds and confidential agents played an important role in government operations.
Wamil replied that the importance of confidential funds depended on the mandate of the government agency involved.
The senator then turned to DepEd, saying that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has both an armed wing and a political wing, and claimed that the latter draws its members from universities. He asked Wamil whether he agreed with that assertion.
Wamil declined to answer, saying, “I cannot answer that, Your Honor.”
Yet all universities in the Philippines operate under the supervision, regulation, and policies of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). This includes public, private, and specialized institutions.
Before turning to the audit itself, Padilla sought to establish Wamil’s perspective by asking about his personal background and experience.
Padilla also pressed Wamil on his familiarity with the situation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Wamil responded that his work did not involve assessing conditions on the ground or conducting investigations, explaining that his responsibility as an auditor was limited to examining the documents submitted for confidential fund liquidation.
“Kayo po ay nakarating na sa BARMM?” Padillas asked.
Wamil answered in the affirmative.
He questioned whether the former state auditor had firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced by remote communities, including limited access to medicine and the country’s security threats—circumstances the defense has cited to justify Vice President Sara Duterte’s use of confidential funds.
“Hindi po kayo exposed, pero kayo po ang humahawak ng investigation sa confidential fund?” Padilla asked.
Wamil said that there’s no investigation, but an evaluation.
