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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Thursday, March 30, 2017
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ILOILO City – Scholars from seven campuses of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic College (NIPC) graduated but could not get their transcript of records.
The school won’t release their transcripts because the scholars have yet to fully pay their tuition fees.
Undersecretary Jesus Hinlo Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has a suggestion after learning of the graduates’ predicament.
“What I have in mind is to bring this to the attention of the President through Cong. (Raul) Tupas (5th District, Iloilo). I will endorse it,” said Hinlo.
The uncollected tuition fees from 2013 to 2016 reached over P80 million, said NIPC president Ma. Theresa Palmares. She did not say, however, how many scholars were involved.
Undersecretary Hinlo graced the graduation ceremony of NIPC – Ajuy, Iloilo Campus on March 28.
“We can ask the (Duterte) administration to help by either condoning or paying the tuition fees if the President has special funds. Maaawa si Presidente, pundohan nya ‘yan,” said Hinlo in a press conference after delivering a speech at the graduation rites.
These scholars’ tuition fees were previously shouldered by the Iskolar sang Quinto (ISQ) program thru the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of then Iloilo 5th District congressman Niel Tupas Jr.
The problem started when the PDAF was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
According to Palmares, the then congressman summoned the scholars and NIPC officials to a meeting and “promised to continue the scholarship. (He said he) will find ways and means to pay for it.”
“Pero ang natabo wala nabayran ang ISQ,” said Palmares.
Tupas claimed the tuition fees were paid through the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Tulong-Dunong, a regular scholarship program of the Commission and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
But Palmares said, “Lain ‘ya ang scholars dira sa Tulong-Dunong. Lain man ya sa ISQ. So wala gid mabayran ang sa ISQ.”
Palmares said two Audit Observation Memos (AOM) from the Commission on Audit (COA) directed NIPC to collect funds for the unpaid tuition fees from the former congressman.
Under the ISQ program, each scholar was allotted P3,000 per semester for tuition fee.
“Basi sa special fund ng President, maawa s’ya ibayran ya na lang…if it is just P80 million. The President has a good heart,” said Hinlo.
In the NIPC-Ajuy campus alone, some 300 graduates could not take board exams administered by the Professional Regulation Commission for lack of transcript of records, according to Cong. Raul Tupas, brother of the former congressman.
The Tupas brothers are not on good terms./PN
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