College told to finish processing tuition claims

THE Cebu City Council’s scholarship committee reminded the Asian College of Technology (ACT) to comply with requirements for the processing of their scholarship program claims worth P119 million.

The requirements include a certificate of no failing grades and a computation of their claims from the city, scholarship committee chairperson Ida Yting said.

Ytig said ACT wasn’t paid since the second semester of 2011 up to the first semester of 2013 because of its failure to comply with Cebu City Hall’s billing requirements.

But former councilor Jose Daluz III, former scholarship committee head, contradicted Ytig by saying that the payment to ACT won’t be outright because the City Legal Office needs to be consulted first.

Daluz said the Cebu City government had to be certain if payment could already be released pending the resolution of complaints for conflict of interest against ACT owner and now Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa of Cebu City’s south district.

The complaint is pending before the Ombudsman-Visayas and the Regional Trial Court.

ACT counsel Edison Ariola, who appeared during the scholarship committee’s executive session yesterday, corrected Daluz by saying that the only complaint filed against Abellanosa is pending before the Ombudsman-Visayas.

No RTC case was filed against the congressman and even the complaint for conflict of interest filed by congressional candidate Aristotle Batuhan against Abellanosa before the office of the president was dismissed, Ariola said. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac