Gatchalian pushes probe of ‘diplomas for sale’

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian. —Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

The reports about Chinese nationals allegedly paying up to P2 million to get college degrees have prompted a call for a Senate inquiry into a possible “diplomas-for-sale” modus involving private universities in Cagayan Valley.

“While the state strongly supports the internationalization in education, any practice allowing the proliferation of diploma mills in the country must not be allowed,” Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said in filing Senate Resolution No. 1007 on Thursday.

“The sale of said degrees undermines the government efforts to improve the quality of education in the country,” he added.

READ: Now it’s ‘diplomas for sale’ raising a stink

Such illegal practice, he pointed out, would also put into question the credibility of educational institutions in the country and the integrity of the degrees earned by Filipino and foreign students.

“Those found to be involved in the ‘diplomas-for-sale’ [scheme] should be held liable. This is not the quality of education that we are trying to promote in our country,” Gatchalian said in a separate statement on Friday.

Citing the information earlier disclosed by security analyst Chester Cabalza, the senator underscored the need for the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to look into claims that many of the Chinese nationals had obtained their degrees without physically attending classes.

READ: Senate probe sought on alleged sale of diplomas to foreign students

Cabalza, president and founder of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, issued the claim amid security concerns over the supposed influx of Chinese nationals in Cagayan.

According to Gatchalian, the entry of foreign students in Cagayan and other parts of the country should comply with Executive Order No. 285 and other existing regulations.

He noted CHEd had already clarified that Saint Paul University Philippines in Tuguegarao City, which allegedly accepted the Chinese students, was authorized by the Bureau of Immigration to take in foreign students.