The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Wednesday, March 22, denied claims that a total of P10 billion worth of funds allocated for the Commission for use in scholarships for tertiary students was used for “other purposes.”

In a statement, CHED Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III explained that the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) was put in the CHED Charter (RA 7722) to fund projects to "strengthen higher education."

“It is not a scholarship fund,” De Vera said. “I do not know where the idea of a P10B scholarship fund came from,” he added, responding to the accusation of Northern Samar Rep. Paul Daza P10 billion worth of funds allocated for the Commission were used for other purposes.

“Accusing CHED of misusing public funds is a very serious allegation,” De Vera maintained. “We reiterate that HEDF funds are used consistent with the CHED law and Tourism Act, and grants to HEIs have been provided since the past administrations,” he added.

Judicious use of funds for HEIs

De Vera furthered that the Tourism Act of 2009 (RA 9593) states that the use of travel tax contributions which is the biggest bulk of the HEDF fund "should prioritize tourism related projects and courses."

This law, he added, also requires the Department of Tourism (DoT) and CHED to collaborate in the regulation and development of undergraduate and graduate degrees in tourism.

Based on these two laws, De Vera said that CHED has “practiced judicious use” of HEDF funds to provide grants for HEIs.

In particular, CHED provided grants for tourism-related projects as required by RA 9593 (curricular enhancements in tourism courses, providing HRM equipment, and edu-tourism projects between HEIs and LGUs to promote local tourism.

It also provided grants to HEIs for equipment and facilities in priority programs such as engineering, agriculture, medicine, nursing, and Information Technology (IT) to help them “comply with quality assurance standards” like library holdings, equipment --- among others --- to get Certificates of Program Compliance (COPC) or required in conversion from state colleges to universities

De Vera said that CHED has been giving grants to HEIs over the past four ) administrations and the current CHED Chairperson and Commissioners have continued this policy.

“What is new under the current CHED leadership is a stronger focus on tourism,” he explained.

Meanwhile, De Vera pointed out that HEDF funds have also been used to implement laws passed by Congress that are not given adequate appropriation in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or General Appropriations Act (GAA) (K-12 graduate scholarship/research, transnational education, Philippine Qualifications Framework, LUDIP law, equipment for medical schools). Once included in the NEP/GAA, then the HEDF funding stops.

He added that CHED has also assisted HEIs in internationalization by funding university-university partnerships and graduate scholarships abroad through the Fulbright and British Council programs.

This, he added, is a “major reason” why there are now 15 Philippine universities in the global rankings and many have achieved star ranking in QS.

De Vera said that CHED has also started funding high-level research and training collaboration between Philippine and foreign universities and industry in medicine (UP, WVSU, MSU-GenSan, and University of Adelaide) and producing health products from indigenous plants and probiotics (DMMMSU, MMSU, ISPSC and industry partners in the Philippines and Thailand).

Amid this, De Vera said that CHED is “always open” to sitting down with the leadership of Congress to discuss the priorities of Congress, and “we will go to the process of discussing it in the Commission.”