By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

AFTER the allegations of unauthorized travels, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan was hit anew with calls for resignation over unreleased allowances for beneficiaries of its scholarship program.

In a press statement on Sunday, Jan. 7, Iligan City Rep. Frederick W. Siao said he is “stopping short of asking for the resignation of the CHED chairman and of the CHED executive director” as “they are not getting away from this that easily.”

“If, however, Dr. Licuanan’s health makes her unable to run the CHED well in the months ahead, then my suggestion is the honorable exit which is for her to resign,” Mr. Siao stated.

CHED International Affairs Staff Director Lily Frieda Milla had said Ms. Licuanan has vertigo when they responded to the allegations of Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list Rep. Jericho Jonas B. Nograles about unauthorized travels.

In a report by the Philippine Star, Ms. Licuanan said she gets “travel authority from the Office of the President for all my travel, including personal trips. This is well documented.”

Mr. Siao said he continues receive complaints from scholars of the K to 12 Transition Program who have not yet received their allowances.

“Despite assurances and notice last December that allowances to some of the faculty studying in Manila will be released, they still had zero allowances,” Mr. Siao said.

Mr. Siao said he cannot “accept the excuse that they [were] unable to anticipate the volume of work.”

On Dec. 22, 2017, CHED explained the delays in the implementation of the program as being brought about by “discrepancies in documentary requirements” and “large volume of documents, which stands at approximately 11,000 sets to date.”

Mr. Siao said, “They could have hired additional personnel to deal with all those 11,000 sets of documents. They could have designated a dedicate lane or process for the K to 12 Transition Program. They could have done many other measures.”

CHED earlier stated it will address the delays by hiring “additional manpower.” CHED also said it will introduce “quality checks” for early detection of discrepancies and conduct “closer coordination with the Regional Offices.”

Ms. Licuanan has yet to respond to a request for comment as of this reporting.

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