Gov. Gwen Garcia, together with some Cebu mayors, are pressing on the Commision on Higher Education (CHED) to give a clearer picture on why some local universities and colleges (LUCs) here were delisted from the agency’s tertiary scholarships.
Gov. Gwen asked the mayors present during the meeting on Tuesday, May 2, with CHED 7 officials to prepare a unified statement on the issue and their respective timelines on their compliance to CHED requirements. Mayors lamented that their scholars were affected by CHED’s delisting of some Cebu SUCs in the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (UniFAST) and Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES).
Mayors present at the meeting are Mayor Samsam Gullas of Talisay City, Mayor Didoy Suan of Cordova, Mayor Romeo Villaceran of Madridejos, Mayor Lionel Bacaltos of Sibonga, and Mayor Ronald Cesante of Dalaguete.
Sugbo News learned that some SUCs in Cebu were delisted by CHED, including Madridejos Community College. CHED 7 was represented by UniFAST 7 representative Andre Dominique Pepito and education supervisor Dr. Joey Rivamonte. Other Cebu SUCs affected are Talisay City College, Cordova Public College, and Sibonga Community College.
During the meeting, the representatives couldn’t readily provide answers sought by the governor and the mayors regarding the delisting issue. A follow-up meeting is scheduled this Friday for the parties to reach a solution.
The governor is inviting CHED chairman Prospero “Popoy” de Vera III, CHED Executive Director Atty. Cinderea Benitez-Jaro, and UniFAST Executive Dir.
Atty. Ryan Estevez to answer before her and the mayors about the delisting issue. Regional officials will also be present.
Gov. Gwen asserted that they must “look for a win win solution here” as consequences of the delisting are now affecting students seeking to pursue their tertiary education.
In fact, the governor even raised the possibility of bringing up the issue to Cebuano congressmen to intervene in the issue, especially now that Congress is up to deliberate on the budgets of agencies.
Gov. Gwen doubted the availability of funds as an issue, saying that the budget for these CHED-led scholarships is automatically provided for by the law. | CL/Photos: AB
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