By Dang Samson Garcia
MARIKINA City Rep. Luz Quimbo questioned the Commission on Higher Education on the “changing” amount of its obligations to private higher education institutions.
She wanted to know why the agency’s unpaid obligations went down from P10.1 billion to P7.7 billion.
“I need to know paano tayo napunta sa 10.1 to 7.7 na walang naibang parameter. Hindi po tayo uuwi hangga’t mapaliwanag po sa amin dito ang utang (sa private HEIs). Bakit siya nagbabago araw-araw?” Quimbo said.
CHED Administrative, Financial and Management Service Director Dr. Rogelio Galera Jr. explained that the data they obtained before the first budget briefing need to be reconciled with data from their central and regional offices, and that certain items were already paid but not included in the report.
CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III said that only P70 million was obligated but unutilized.
Meanwhile, CHED Executive Director Cinderella Filipina Benitez-Jaro shared that they have around P16 billion obligated but undisbursed funds from 2018 to 2022.
Not satisfied with their answers, Quimbo directed De Vera to submit a sworn statement detailing their fund obligations, expenditures and allocations.
