CHED chief urged to quit over hidden PDAF

MANILA, Philippines - Chairman Patricia Licuanan was asked yesterday to resign from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for saying that the pork barrel system continues to exist.

Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) secretary-general France Castro said Licuanan has lost her “moral qualification” to head the CHED after she made the statement.

ACT, the biggest organization of teachers in the public and private sector, joined some members of the University of the Philippines community in calling for Licuanan’s ouster.

ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio has released an audiotape of a House of Representatives executive session where Licuanan allegedly said that scholarship funds realigned in their office were actually pork barrel for the sole use of lawmakers.

“Instead of standing and fighting for higher budgetary allocations for state colleges and universities… Licuanan sufficed herself with the allocation of the scholarship fund/PDAF only, making students act like beggars asking for alms from the congressmen,” she said.

“She allowed her office to be used as an instrument in the proliferation of patronage politics.” 

 Earlier, Licuanan said CHED was not handling any PDAF, and that the P4.1-billion supplemental budget was for scholarships and grants.