COA finds irregularities in CHED’s use of ‘pork’

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has raised some questions on the way scholars of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) were given financial assistance last year using the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of legislators and the Disbursement Acceleration Program of the government.

State auditors said the implementation of the agency’s Student Financial Assistance Programs did not adhere to guidelines, rules and regulations.

The 2012 COA report released over the weekend particularly questioned how the selection, screening, awarding and determination of the amount of the grant to each student beneficiary, which are normally the functions of the CHED, were entrusted to the office of the legislator through a memorandum of agreement (MOA).

Such practice of giving lawmakers discretionary power led to the granting of financial assistance ranging from P16,000 to P110,000 per semester per grantee, more than the maximum allowable benefit of P15,000 per semester given by CHED to full merit scholars.

“The determination of the Office of the Legislator of the amount to be given to the recipient students as per MOA will result in inequity in the grant of scholarship benefits charged to PDAF,” COA noted in its report.

The COA report also frowned at the absence of any undertaking between the CHED and the student beneficiaries assuring the continuity of the educational assistance until they graduate.

State auditors further discovered that claims totaling P112.6 million were not supported with adequate documentation such as income tax returns and students’ grades, thus failing to ensure that the grantees were qualified beneficiaries of the scholarship program.

Records show that checks totaling P18.8 million were released by the cashiers of CHED to persons other than the payees or student grantees, failing to ensure that the educational benefits were received by the students on time.

The COA report stressed that delayed processing and release of claims ranging from one month to 17 months and unclaimed/cancelled/stale checks totaling P11.2 million in nine CHED regional offices deprived student beneficiaries of timely receipt of their financial assistance.

State auditors also found that the processing and awarding of double and/or multiple scholarship slots to 63 students were not immediately detected and cancelled, depriving other qualified students of scholarships.

The COA report recommended among others that the CHED’s Office of Student Services revisit the MOA and the CHED guidelines for student financial assistance programs for amendment and/or clarification to determine all the excessive grants given to student beneficiaries, and to effect their refund.