Solon slams Ched of bias in CAR director’s appointment

By Erlindo Agwilang Jr.

MOUNTAIN PROVINCE Rep. Maximo B. Dalog slammed the Commission on Higher Education for not appointing a full-time regional director for its regional office in the Cordillera Administrative Region saying a Cordilleran should head it.

During the congressional hearing of the committee on higher and technical education at the House of Representatives Monday, the congressman aired concern after learning that the Ched detailed Dr. Romulo H. Malvar as current officer-in-charge of Ched-CAR when he does not obtain regular salary of a director but receives it from Marinduque State College as employee of said institution.

In the same hearing Dalog inquired whether or not the salaries of regional directors were incorporated in CHED’s proposed budget under personnel services.

Commissioner Ruperto S. Sangalang affirmed this but said in the case of the salary of the current director for region CAR, he is indeed receiving his income from the office where he comes from which is the MSC.

Dalog asked why Ched cannot assign a regular director when there are a lot of Cordillerans qualified enough to manage the affairs of the Ched regional office.

“I think this is yet another form of historical bias against us Cordillerans. Why can’t you assign a full-time regional director? Don’t we deserve it?,” he added.

He also cited Administrative Order 36 issued by the late President Corazon C. Aquino giving preference to qualified natives of the Cordillera in appointment of regional directors.

Section 2 states, “In keeping with the spirit and intent of Executive Order 220, preference shall be given to qualified natives of the Cordillera in the appointment of the regional directors and their staff.”

He then asked the committee and Ched that CAR should already be assigned a full-fledged director by taking into consideration AO 36.

In an interview, the veteran lawmaker said Ched and the national government “should look more kindly upon us, Cordillerans as we feel that in this particular case, we are being treated like second class citizens of this country.”

In related developments, the house committee also tackled several measures seeking to extend the period of compliance of Ched’s requirements for state colleges applying for university status.

This includes the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College in the capital town of Bontoc ,whose submission and compliance had lapsed last January.

Committee members unanimously agreed that a “uniform” date to comply with the requirements for all applicant-state colleges will be in effect by year 2021.