No more ACT city scholars
The Cebu City government will no longer allow its city scholars to enroll anew at the Asian College of Technology pending the resolution of the civil case it filed in court against the latter.
Mayor Michael Rama said this is to avoid further “legal and technical complications.”
He is referring to the recent case the city filed asking the court for declaratory relief from ACT and/or Asian College of Technology International Educational Foundation, Inc. (ACTIEF).
The city also asked the court to determine if City Hall can still pay for the school fees of its scholars enrolled at ACT. The city owes the school P135 million representing the tuition of the scholars, including the P26 million December billing for the second semester of the current school year.
The city hesitated releasing the payment because the anti-graft office last year found ACT owner, Cebu City south district Representative Rodrigo Abellanosa, guilty of grave misconduct for conflict of interest in the city government’s scholarship program. The decision came after City Hall employee Philip Banguiran filed an administrative complaint in December 2012 against Abellanosa, who was then city councilor and trustee-president of ACTIEF, when he signed the accreditation of his school on June 14, 2010.
Rama said, “It is our position that scholars should not be enrolled at ACT until the pending case is settled.”
He added the current scholars at ACT will be “temporarily” transferred to other accredited schools in the city.
“Ang importante let’s not put the students in jeopardy and leaving the city government as hostage. Importante ma-transfer sila and dili ma-interrupt ila studies. There’s always a solution than bringing us into trouble later,” he said.
ACT lawyer Edison Ariola was not available for comment yesterday.
The city first entered into a MOA with ACT and the Department of Education for its college scholarship program in 2010.
There are 22 accredited schools in the city, including Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, University of Cebu, Cebu Institute of Technology-University, University of the Visayas, Cebu Technological University, University of the Philippines-Cebu, Cebu Eastern College, Cebu Normal University, Don Bosco College, STI College Cebu, Rizwoods College and Cebu Mary Immaculate College, among others.
Rama will meet the presidents of these schools either this Friday or next week to ask them to credit the respective courses of the scholars. He said some schools like UV and UC have already agreed to accommodate city scholars.
Scholarship committee head Ida Yting said there are an estimated 2,805 current students at ACT as of second semester, including those who graduated last March. Another 6,000 new high school graduates have applied for city scholarship.
Rama told Yting to tell the scholars’ parents about the situation. Yting said the committee has been meeting with parents these past few days on the mayor’s directive.
Carmen Lahoylahoy, the leader of the parents of ACT scholars, said they cannot contest and argue the decision of the mayor.
“Mas convenient ang among mga anak sa ACT apan kun mao nay ilang pagbuot wa na mi mahimo,” she said.
Councilor Alvin Dizon, chairman of the committee on education, said the transfer will greatly affect and hamper the studies of the scholars.
“Transferring the existing scholars of ACTIEF to other school may unduly injure them and their parents because of differences in the curricula of different schools. Some subjects already finished by the scholars will be wasted while they will have to enroll in additional subjects thereby unnecessarily prolonging their course program and incurring more expenses,” he said.
“This difficult situation will result to many scholars unable them to finish their course programs and the city losing its investment in the youth’s education,” he added.