Lawmaker slams CHED chief over travels

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chair Patricia Licuanan has violated an executive order (EO) on foreign travels by not obtaining Palace approval for at least eight trips she made in 2017, a Davao congressman claimed yesterday.

But Licuanan was quick to deny the allegation and told The STAR, “I do not know what (Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list) Rep. (Jericho) Nograles is talking about and where he is getting his facts.”

“I get a travel authority from the Office of the President for all my travel, including personal trips. This is well documented,” she said.

Licuanan also denied issuing a travel authority for herself, saying she only issues authorities for other CHED officials as per her mandate as head of an agency.

“I hope Rep. Nograles has been misquoted. But if not, he should definitely check his facts before making false accusations,” she stressed.

Nograles, a constituent of President Duterte in Davao City, said based on documents in his possession, Licuanan approved her own trips.

He said the CHED boss violated EO 456, issued on Sept. 1, 2005 by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which requires “members of the Cabinet and officials of equivalent rank” to seek the approval of Malacañang for any foreign travel.

He added that Licuanan could be liable for “grave misconduct, which the Supreme Court has defined as flagrant disregard of established rules, among others,” and for usurping Malacañang’s authority to approve her foreign trips.

Nograles said Licuanan traveled to Thailand in March, United States, France and Germany in June, Singapore in August, Taiwan and Singapore in October and Canada in November.

The CHED chief holds a Cabinet rank. She used to attend Cabinet meetings when she was still on speaking terms with Duterte. She is an appointee of former president Benigno Aquino III. 

In the latter part of 2016, Duterte asked Aquino appointees to submit their courtesy resignation so he could replace them. Licuanan refused, since she enjoys a fixed term that would expire this year.

There were speculations that the President wanted to replace her with his supporter Prospero de Vera, whom he has appointed as one of the commissioners of CHED. 

Nothing excessive

Duterte has dismissed some officials for excessive and extravagant foreign trips, the latest of whom was Marcial Amaro III, former head of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

But Amaro was defiant as he pointed out yesterday his trips were not excessive and that whoever will replace him in Marina will also have to travel abroad the way he did.

“No, not at all,” Amaro said when asked about his 21 foreign trips. 

“I believe that the Palace would realize that whoever will occupy the position, he/she will have to travel the same way. How can you prevent the chair to travel, it gives a better reputation (for) the country,” Amaro said in a television interview.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque earlier announced that Duterte sacked Amaro over his alleged excessive foreign trips.

Amaro said that Marina is a specialized organization of the government that deals with international organizations. 

“All the policies and programs emanate from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and we need to discuss it quite thoroughly with them otherwise it’s going to affect our domestic trade,” Amaro said.

Amaro said he had a total of 21 official trips, of which six were sponsored by other countries, while 15 were paid for by the government.

He said that all his trips were signed by the Palace and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and has benefitted the country. 

“We are providing security for our seafarers because we should understand that there are a lot of countries who would want to get our position as the major provider of seafarers,” Amaro said.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said Amaro’s dismissal “proves once more President Duterte’s strong political will to rid the bureaucracy of corruption, which is one of the primary reasons he has continued to sustain high public approval ratings.”

“Filipinos who have longed for a clean government see the President’s toughness and decisiveness in his anti-corruption drive as a sign of real positive change – as what he promised in the 2016 presidential campaign,” he said.

In keeping with the President’s campaign promise, Villafuerte reiterated his appeal for Malacañang to investigate Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for their inaction on mounting complaints about irregularities in the operations of small town lotteries (STL) nationwide.

“Even when presented with clear evidence and despite several follow-ups, PCSO officials have continued to ignore the violations committed by STL operators. All they have done is come up with lame excuses on why they can’t investigate these erring STL operators,” he said.

Villafuerte said he has brought to the attention of PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan the alleged violations of the STL operator in his province.

He said the violations include receiving bets from children, non-remittance of the required monthly contributions to the host local government units and use of tickets other than those prescribed by the PCSO?.

Villafuerte lamented that five months after he personally complained to Balutan, “no action has been taken, no response has been provided.”  – Jess Diaz, Janvic Mateo, Jose Rodel Clapano