Senator Risa Hontiveros has flagged the alleged “ghost scholars” under the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) scholarship program after her office received complaints from students who have not been receiving their education subsidy.
Hontiveros raised the matter during Tuesday, September 27 hearing on the proposed P30.7-billion budget of the CHED, saying her office received complaints from almost 400 students.
Under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or Republic Act 10931, CHED is mandated to carry out the Unified Student Financing Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or Republic Act 10931.
But the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between UniFAST, CHED and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has been flagged as “defective” by the Commission on Audit (COA) itself, Hontiveros noted.
“May mga reklamo na may mga ‘ghost scholars’ na nakakatanggap ng tuition reimbursement ng mga estudyante na naka-graduate na. So kung hindi ang mga bata, sino ang totoong nagka-cash in? Seryosong alegasyon ito na kailangan imbestigahan ng CHED (There have been complaints that there ‘ghost scholars’ who are receiving tuition reimbursement of students who already graduated. So if it’s not the children, who is really cashing-in? This is a serious allegation that must be investigated by the CHED),” Hontiveros said during the hearing.
The defective MOA led to P1-billion in parked funds since 2019 and prevented the implementation of the program, the senator lamented.
“Alam niyo naman na may problema sa MOA pero bakit hindi niyo ibinalik agad sa National Treasury ang P1 billion na nakalaan para dito? Hindi barya-barya ang pinaguusapan dito (You already know that there is a problem with the MOA, but you did not return the P1-billion to the National Treasury? We are not talking about some loose change here),” Hontiveros pointed out.
“Naibalik niyo na ba ang naka-park na P1 Billion na ito sa National Treasury? Ano namang nangyari sa interest earnings nito? Mayroon pa bang ibang mga nakapark na pondo para sa libreng edukasyon na naka-tengga lang? (Have you returned the P1-billion to the National Treasury? What happened to the interest earnings here? Are there other funds for free education that until now remains parked)?” she asked CHED.
“Up to 3 years ang backlog ng CHED sa pag-release ng pera sa mga estudyante. Nasaan ang pondo (CHED has a three-year backlog to release the funds to students. So where are the funds)?" she pointed out.
Hontiveros also said that in the complaints emailed to her office, some of the students who complained were afraid of their identities being discovered and feared losing state scholarship.
“We want to investigate this because we want to solve the problem that is affecting many students, but not to stop the program,” she pointed out.
“There is a real climate of fear among students, and we at the Senate should find out who is instigating it,” Hontiveros stressed.