DE VERA READY TO FACE ACCUSERS IN COURT

Conclusion

COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHEd) Chairman J. Prospero de Vera 3rd said that he is ready to answer allegations against him concerning the delay in the release of Tuition Education Subsidy (TES) in court.

De Vera issued the statement following claims from some community colleges that the CHEd had been negligent in the disbursement of TES for the past three semesters, from 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

"Students are now holding demonstrations because they have not received their TES, thinking we are the one withholding their money," Agapito Lubaton, administrator and chief executive officer of Marvelous College of Koronadal City told The Manila Times.

Lubaton said that the release of TES became difficult since UniFAST officer in charge Ryan Estevez took over.

De Vera, however, said the problem can be attributed to lack of funds.

"There is no money for new TES grantees, not only [in] private schools [but also] in SUC/LUC (state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges) even the Listahanan 2.0 qualifiers in public universities also are not getting TES because there is a lack of funds," he said.

On Monday, Northern Samar First District Rep. Paul Daza questioned the CHEd's use of the P10 billion Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF).

In a statement, CHEd said that the funds under the HEDF were intended for projects "to strengthen higher education" and are not a scholarship fund.

It added that based on Republic Act (RA) 9593 or the "Tourism Act of 2009," the use of travel tax contributions, which is used by the HEDF, should prioritize tourism-related projects and courses, and also requires the Department of Tourism and CHEd to collaborate in the regulation and development of undergraduate and graduate degrees in tourism.

"Based on these two laws, CHEd has practiced judicious use of HEDF funds to provide grants for higher education institutions, such as grants for tourism-related projects as related to RA 9593, such as curricular enhancements in tourism courses, and grants to HEIs (higher education institutions) for equipment and facilities in priority programs (engineering, agriculture, medicine, nursing and information technology) to help them comply with quality assurance standards," the agency said.

"Accusing CHEd of misusing public funds is a very serious allegation. We reiterate that the HEDF funds are used consistent with the CHEd Law and the Tourism Act, and grants to HEIs have been provided since the past administrations," it added.

Daza said that while he understands the HEDF is not a scholarship fund, he had "serious concerns on the utilization of the fund," with P10 billion of the 2021 HEDF remaining unspent.

"It may look good on paper that the CHEd did not spend P10 billion, but the real consequence of that is the Filipino people were short-changed P10 billion because it was not used to serve their needs," he said.

Daza urged de Vera to "use the power and responsibility that he was given to answer the plight of the poor, underprivileged and undereducated."

"He can implement creative solutions to reallocate the unspent funds to fill a dire need for those under the 4Ps; not just for their tuition but also for their needs in their daily lives as students," he said.

2023-03-29T17:04:44Z dg43tfdfdgfd