THE COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHED) on Monday vowed to pursue reforms as it received its first highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA).
“We will continue to implement reforms to build upon the gains shown by the COA's unqualified opinion. This includes increasing our disbursement rate and complying with the shift to cash-based budgeting," CHED Chairperson Prospero de Vera III said in a statement.
De Vera said it rolled out similar practices this year that resulted in the COA's unqualified opinion.
He also committed to "closely monitor and improve" the systems in the CHED's regional offices with audit observations.
The CHED received the audit rating for its financial statement submitted for the fiscal year 2022.
“This is truly historical and a product of the various fiscal accountability reforms initiated when I assumed the CHED Chairmanship in 2018,” De Vera said.
He cited several strategies that have helped resolved long-standing observations in the commission, including the more improved documentation and account reporting systems from higher education institutions (HEIs).
"This included requiring HEIs who get CHED grants to clear all their unliquidated funds before they can even apply for project grants,” he said.
With its implementation, more than PHP2.864 billion have been returned to the government fund.
Besides these, the mandatory return of unexpended balances of some state universities and colleges under the Disbursement Acceleration Program was also ordered, as well as the implementation of stricter procurement processes for CHED programs and projects. (Stephanie Sevillano)
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