Non-payment of subsidy grant allegations unfounded

COMMISSION ON Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III slammed on Thursday allegations concerning the "non-payment" of grants for Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES).

"Charges laid against me lack merit and are purely unsubstantiated allegations," de Vera said in a statement.

The CHED chief's remarks came after the filing of a complaint against him before the Ombudsman for alleged neglect of duties and responsibilities as a public official in relation to the alleged non-disbursement of the TES tranches for academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

The accusations came from several complainants at the Marvelous College of Technology and the Marvelous College and Goldenstate College of Koronadal City, following a "two-year delay" on the TES grant release.

De Vera, however, said Marvelous College has received PHP157,653,600 for AYs 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

"CHED Region 12 has released the funds for them. It is therefore not true that the students have not received money from CHED-Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST)," he said.

He said this benefited around 1,275 continuing qualified TES student-grantees enrolled in Marvelous College.

He said such procedures for the grant go through the UniFAST Governing Board.

"Why am I being singled out for a policy decision that I cannot make individually but is collegially made by the UniFAST Board?" he said.

The UniFAST Board includes officials from the Department of Education (DepEd), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), National Youth Commission (NYC), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU), Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and Social Security System (SSS).

De Vera said the subsidy amount is based on the guidelines of the UniFAST Board, which is also subject to the available funds.

"Delays in disbursement were due to lack of funds allocated by DBM (Department of Budget Management) to CHED, as confirmed by regional offices," he added. (Stephanie Sevillano)