Palace says, CHED to address excess fees charged by colleges and universities
Malacanang assured the public on Friday that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is working doubly hard to address the reported exorbitant miscellaneous fees charged by colleges and universities nationwide.
In a statement posted at the government portal Official Gazette, Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Edwin Lacierda said the government is extending consumer rights to students and parents and CHED is drawing up a framework on it.
“The administration is working to fulfill its Social Contract with the Filipino People, and the ongoing reform of the system of fees charged by schools is a component of our commitment to making education not just one of many concerns but rather to making education the central strategy for investing in our people,” the statement said.
Lacierda stressed that transparency and accountability must be the hallmark not just of public but also, of private service.
With these, he urged “all educational institutions to make the fees they collect demonstrably relevant and logical.”
Being part of the presidents social contract with the people, he said, the ongoing reform on the system of fees collected by schools is a component of the administration’s commitment to improve and make education available to all Filipinos.
“We encourage administrators to communicate with other stakeholders so that all concerned are assured of a fee system that has no hidden surprises,” he said.
“The lofty goals of education should not be a cloak for charging fees that are either arbitrarily set or assessed with a lack of clarity, ending up violating the consumer rights of students and parents,” he added. (PCOO)
Government to provide bangus fingerlings to fish pen owners to revitalize hard-hit fish industry
The government will assist fish pen owners by providing them bangus fingerlings in a bid to revitalize the hard-hit fish industry in Batangas and Pangasinan.
In his official statement issued on Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said mitigating measures are now in place to restore the quality of water in the provinces concerned.
“The national government will be assisting fish pen owners by providing bangus fingerlings for the restocking of bangus. But this can only be done when the water quality is restored, and can be maintained, to allow fingerlings to develop properly,” said Lacierda in a statement.
Lacierda also called on for a stronger partnership between the national and local authorities to address the impact of the fish kill and to prevent the incident from recurring.
“A triple dilemma at present: the disposal of tons of fish kill; the interdiction of fish kill so that it won’t be sold in public markets; and the revitalization of the industry and the restoration of public confidence in bangus products, requires all concerned to work together and not at cross-purposes,” he said.
He said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is assisting the national government in enforcing mitigating measures such as lending pumps to aerate the water in Taal Lake.
“Our Agricultural and Environmental (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) authorities agree that sustainability depends on regulations and a corresponding self-control on the part of fish pen owners,” he said.
As the DENR has pointed out, Taal Lake is a protected area and the optimum number of fish cages should be 6,000, according to Lacierda.
“The hard choice that local administrators have to make, and which industry players need to abide by, is to maintain a healthy limit on fish pens if the industry is to be sustainable,” he said.
The plight of the bangus industry in Batangas and Pangasinan shows that if local authorities and fish pen owners do not closely cooperate in ensuring the sustainability of the bangus industry, nature will inflict its own corrective mechanisms, leading to even greater disruptions which should not be repeated,” he said.
“It is in everyone’s interest to pay attention to the science of it all, so that what emerges is a revitalized and rationalized bangus industry that is able to generate income and jobs in a sustainable manner,” he added. (PCOO)
Malacanang assured the public on Friday that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is working doubly hard to address the reported exorbitant miscellaneous fees charged by colleges and universities nationwide.
In a statement posted at the government portal Official Gazette, Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Edwin Lacierda said the government is extending consumer rights to students and parents and CHED is drawing up a framework on it.
“The administration is working to fulfill its Social Contract with the Filipino People, and the ongoing reform of the system of fees charged by schools is a component of our commitment to making education not just one of many concerns but rather to making education the central strategy for investing in our people,” the statement said.
Lacierda stressed that transparency and accountability must be the hallmark not just of public but also, of private service.
With these, he urged “all educational institutions to make the fees they collect demonstrably relevant and logical.”
Being part of the presidents social contract with the people, he said, the ongoing reform on the system of fees collected by schools is a component of the administration’s commitment to improve and make education available to all Filipinos.
“We encourage administrators to communicate with other stakeholders so that all concerned are assured of a fee system that has no hidden surprises,” he said.
“The lofty goals of education should not be a cloak for charging fees that are either arbitrarily set or assessed with a lack of clarity, ending up violating the consumer rights of students and parents,” he added. (PCOO)
Government to provide bangus fingerlings to fish pen owners to revitalize hard-hit fish industry
The government will assist fish pen owners by providing them bangus fingerlings in a bid to revitalize the hard-hit fish industry in Batangas and Pangasinan.
In his official statement issued on Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said mitigating measures are now in place to restore the quality of water in the provinces concerned.
“The national government will be assisting fish pen owners by providing bangus fingerlings for the restocking of bangus. But this can only be done when the water quality is restored, and can be maintained, to allow fingerlings to develop properly,” said Lacierda in a statement.
Lacierda also called on for a stronger partnership between the national and local authorities to address the impact of the fish kill and to prevent the incident from recurring.
“A triple dilemma at present: the disposal of tons of fish kill; the interdiction of fish kill so that it won’t be sold in public markets; and the revitalization of the industry and the restoration of public confidence in bangus products, requires all concerned to work together and not at cross-purposes,” he said.
He said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is assisting the national government in enforcing mitigating measures such as lending pumps to aerate the water in Taal Lake.
“Our Agricultural and Environmental (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) authorities agree that sustainability depends on regulations and a corresponding self-control on the part of fish pen owners,” he said.
As the DENR has pointed out, Taal Lake is a protected area and the optimum number of fish cages should be 6,000, according to Lacierda.
“The hard choice that local administrators have to make, and which industry players need to abide by, is to maintain a healthy limit on fish pens if the industry is to be sustainable,” he said.
The plight of the bangus industry in Batangas and Pangasinan shows that if local authorities and fish pen owners do not closely cooperate in ensuring the sustainability of the bangus industry, nature will inflict its own corrective mechanisms, leading to even greater disruptions which should not be repeated,” he said.
“It is in everyone’s interest to pay attention to the science of it all, so that what emerges is a revitalized and rationalized bangus industry that is able to generate income and jobs in a sustainable manner,” he added. (PCOO)
