SOME activities of the Department of Education (DepEd) Mandaue City Division may be disrupted after a miscalculation in the city’s Special Education Fund (SEF) led to a deficit of more than P305 million for 2025.
During a recent meeting with school principals and superintendents, City Assistant Treasurer Julia Ballesteros admitted that the SEF budget had been overstated at P744 million when in reality, the City expects to collect only P281 million this year.
The revelation has placed the City in a tight financial situation, as DepEd Mandaue already procured items and disbursed about P587 million based on the higher estimate. With only P281 million available, the budget shortfall now stands at over P305,170,130.40.
DepEd Mandaue Administrative Officer Edgar Espina explained that the division had originally requested just P400 million for their programs. However, the previous City Treasurer’s Office offered them a much larger allocation of up to P744 million.
“As an end user, who wouldn’t accept help?” Espina said in an interview.
“Of course, we were happy to receive it, but we didn’t know that there was no such fund available for that P700 million. In short, we were scammed,” he added.
Suppliers
The funds were already used to finance several projects, including the purchase of solar lamps and the upgrading of school laboratories. But these items have yet to be formally accepted and turned over to the schools.
City officials explained that accepting the projects would mean the local government must take responsibility for paying the suppliers, an obligation it may not be able to immediately meet.
City Administrator Gonzalo “Sally” Malig-on Jr. confirmed the City Government is still assessing the situation to determine what steps to take next.
“We are carefully studying which of these deliveries should be accepted and paid for,” he said.
Records show that actual SEF collections in Mandaue City have never come close to the P700-million projection.
In 2023, the City collected only P298 million; in 2024, about P321 million; and as of August 2025, just P216 million had been raised.
Malig-on noted that historically, collections hovered at around P300 million, making the P744-million estimate “exceptionally ambitious.”
The cash deficit now casts uncertainty in the implementation of some education-related programs in Mandaue City.
Officials warned that unless a solution is reached, schools may face delays in receiving needed facilities and resources.
For now, officials are weighing whether to shoulder the financial obligations or renegotiate the transactions to prevent the crisis from worsening. / ABC