Who  is  Shamelessly  Profiting  from  the  Cebu  City  Scholarship  Program?    (An  Exposé)  

 An  Open  Letter  to  the  Leadership  of  the  Liberal  Party  (LP)    

 Is  it  sheer  coincidence  that  the  bulk  of  Cebu  City’s  more  than  P100  Million  annual  scholarship  budget,   and   an   overwhelming  majority   of   its   college   scholars,   go   to   a   little-­‐known   college  owned   by   a   sitting   City   Councilor   who   serves   as   the   Chairman   and   Vice-­‐Chairman,  respectively,  of  the  City’s  Social  Services  and  Education  Committees?        In  June  2010,  the  Cebu  City  Council,  acting  under  the  leadership  of  then  City  Mayor  Tomas  Osmeña,   established   the   Cebu   City   Government   College   Scholarship   Program   (the  “Scholarship  Program”)   in   order   to   afford   graduates   of   the  City’s   public   high   schools   the  opportunity  to  enroll  in  any  accredited  college  or  university  in  the  City.      Under   the  mechanics   of   the   Program,   the   City   grants   every   scholar   Ten  Thousand  Pesos  (P10,000.00)  per  semester,  which  the  City  pays  directly  to  his  or  her  school  pursuant  to  a  billing  arrangement  between  them.  Each  school-­‐year,  the  City  allocates  a  minimum  of  One  Hundred  Million  Pesos  (P100,000,000.00)  to  the  Program.      We  draw  the  attention  of  the  LP  to  the  following:      One  College  Dominates  18  Others    Since  the  inception  of  the  Program,  one  second-­‐rate  school,   the  Asian   College   of   Technology   (“ACT”),  has  cornered  the  lion’s  share  of  the  scholars  and  the  scholarship   funds   of   the   City,   with   roughly   15,600  City  scholars  enrolling  thereat  over  the  last  3  years.    That  is  more  than  the  total  number  of  scholars  that  enrolled  in  all  of  the  18  other  accredited  universities  and   colleges   in   the  City,  which   counts   among   them  such  industry  heavyweights  as  the  University  of  the  Philippines  (UP),  the  Cebu  Normal  University  (CNU),  the   Cebu   Technological   University   (CTU),   and   the  University  of  Cebu  (UC).    At  P10,000.00  per  scholar/per  semester,  that  translates  to  cumulative  earnings  of  not  less  than   P156,000,000.00   beginning   2010.   “Lucrative”   cannot   even   begin   to   describe   the  magnitude  of  the  business  ACT  has  managed  to  bag  from  the  City.  

   

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Who  Owns  ACT?      

As   it  happens,  ACT   is   owned  by   incumbent  City  Councilor   and  Presiding  Officer  Pro  Tempore  Rodrigo  Abellanosa,  who  is  the  Chairman,  President,  and  principal  owner  of  

the   college.   1  Coincidentally,  Councilor   Abellanosa   is   the  Chairman   of   the   Committee   on  Social  Services,  Vice-­‐Chairman  of  the   Committee   on   Education,  Science   and   Technology,   and   a  member   of   the   powerful  Scholarship   Committee   of   the  City  Council  of  Cebu.2      

 Three  Suspect  Contracts      Asian   College   of   Technology’s  unmistakable   good   fortune  began  when,  without  divesting  himself  of  his  interests  in   ACT   as   required   by   law3,   Councilor  Abellanosa   entered   into   scholarship  agreements   with   the   City   in   2010   and  2011,   signing   in   his   personal   capacity  as   President   of   Asian   College   of  Technology. 4     In   2010   Councilor  Abellanosa  also  crafted  and  entered  into  an   ingenious   "scholarships   in   exchange  for  back  taxes”  agreement  with  the  City.5  

 All  of  the  foregoing  is  substantiated  by  incontrovertible  public  records,  i.e.,  SEC  documents,  City  Council  resolutions,  signed  memoranda  of  agreements  between  ACT  and  the  City,  and  records  of  the  City  Treasurer,  among  others.    

                                                                                                               1General  Information  Sheet  for  Asian  College  of  Technology  filed  by  Corporate  Secretary  Erwin  T.  Verano  dated  23  May  2011;  General  Information  Sheet  for  Asian  College  of  Technology  International  Educational  Foundation,  Inc.  (Company  Reg.  No.  CN200625060)  filed  by  Corporate  Secretary  Erwin  T.  Verano  dated  23  2  www.cebucity.gov.ph/cityofficials/legislative/97-­‐hon-­‐rodrigo-­‐a-­‐abellanosa  3  Sec.  9,  Code  of  Conduct  and  Ethical  Standards  of  Government  Employees  (R.A.  6713)  4  Memorandum  of  Agreement  among  the  City  of  Cebu  represented  by  City  Mayor  Tomas  R.  Osmena,  the  Department  of  Education,  and  the  Asian  College  of  Technology,  represented  by  its  President  Rodrigo  Abellanosa  dated  24  June  2010;  City  Government  of  Cebu  Executive  Order  10-­‐124,  Series  of  2010;  Sangguniang  Panglungsod  Resolution  No.  12-­‐3355-­‐2011  5  Sangguniang  Panglungsod  Resolution  No.  12-­‐541-­‐2010;  Memorandum  of  Agreement  between  the  City  of  Cebu  and  Asian  College  of  Technology  dated  18  November  2010  

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 A  Grossly  Anomalous  Public-­‐Private  Partnership  

   Forced   to   explain   his   unmistakable  conflict  of   interest  before  a  slew  of  reporters   in   January,   Councilor  Abellanosa  had   the   temerity   to   laud  his  actions  as  "a  fine  example  of  the  public-­‐private  partnership  that  the  President   himself   espouses" 6 .  Unrepentant,   he   trumpets   this  grossly   anomalous   partnership  between  his  diploma  mill  of  a  college  

and   the  City   he   purports   to   serve   in   attractive   flyers   and   glossy   “Certificates  of  Financial  Grant”   that   he   distributes   to   all  public   high   schools   in   the   City   to  lure  yet  more  City  scholars  into  his  school.   After   all,   the   more   City  scholars  in  ACT,  the  richer  he  gets!  Surely,   the   President   would   be  livid  if  he  knew  how  the  Councilor  has   co-­‐opted   his   exemplary   PPP  agenda   to   justify   his   legally   and  morally  indefensible  conduct!    Sleight  of  hand    To  quell   incessant   talk  of  his  corruption,  Councilor  Abellanosa  pompously  asserts   that  he  matches  the  City  scholarship  Peso-­‐for-­‐Peso,  “giving  an  additional  P10,000.00”  on  top  of  the   P10,000.00   from   the   City   to   every   scholar   enrolled   in   ACT.7  The   Councilor’s   self-­‐trumpeted  generosity  –  designed  to  bait  an  impoverished  scholar  to  choose  ACT  over  the  18   other   accredited   colleges   and   universities   in   the   City   -­‐-­‐   is   of   course   nothing   but   an  illusion;  a  sleight  of  hand.      It   is   all   too   easy   for   the   Councilor   to   inflate   ACT’s   cost   of   education   to   P20,000.00   and  pretend  to  give  P10,000.00  of  his  own  money  to  cover  the  difference,  when  the  truth  is  that  the   P10,000.00   from   the   City   is  more   than   enough   for   the   paltry   education   each   scholar  receives   from  ACT.  Of   course,   that   is  not  what   the  scheming  Councilor  would  have  every  poor   and   impressionable   scholar   believe.   (In   like   manner,   he   represents   that   he   was  “Educated  in  Harvard  University”  (see  banner);  another   lie,  as  some  Harvard  alumni  called  his  bluff  and  he  buckled.)  

                                                                                                               6  Cebu  Daily  News,  p.  6,  January  13,  2013;  Sunstar  Cebu,  p.  A8,  January  13,  2013;  The  Freeman,  p.  2,  January  13,  2013  7  Ibid.  See  also  Primer  2011  Cebu  City  Government  Scholarship  Program  “Education  For  All,”  p.  18

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 Which  brings  one  to  wonder:  If  the  Councilor  truly  has  the  means   and   the   intention   to   provide   scholarships  for   the   City’s   underprivileged   students,   then  what   is  stopping   him   from   setting   up   his   own   scholarship  fund,   entirely   distinct   from   that   of   the   Cebu   City  Government’s?  That  would  double  the  Peso  amount  of  scholarships   available   to   the   countless   graduates   of  the   City’s   public   high   schools   to   more   than  P200,000,000.00   per   annum!   And   yet,   because   his  offer   is   nothing   more   than   empty   enticement,   the  Councilor   is   forced   to   ride   the   coattails   of   the   City’s  College  Scholarship  Program.      Meanwhile,  the  City  Councilor  faces  serious  graft  and  administrative   charges   before   the  Ombudsman   and  the  Office  of  the  President.8      Councilor  Abellanosa  for  Congress?    We  ask  the  LP:  Who  is  really  profiting  from  the  Cebu  City  College  Scholarship  Program?  Certainly,  it  is  not  the  City  scholars,  each  of  whom  receives  only  a  piddling  subsidy  from  the  City  Government.  Rather,  it  is  ACT  Chairman,  President,  and  principal  owner,  Rodrigo  Abellanosa,  an  elected  City  official  who  leveraged  the  powers  of  his  office  to  build  himself  an   immensely  profitable  business   empire;   a   double-­‐dealing  public   servant  whose   idea  of  service  is  to  enrich  himself  at  the  expense  of  the  taxpayers  of  the  City  and  of  the  City’s  very  scholars   themselves.   Is   this   the   kind   of   man   the   LP   would   foist   upon   the   hapless  residents  of  the  City’s  South  District  as  their  next  representative  in  Congress?    Tahakin  Natin  ang  Daang  Matuwid!    We  challenge  the  LP  whose  foremost  leader,  President  Aquino,  exhorts  every  public  official  to   take   the   straight   and   narrow   path   of   public   service,   i.e.,   the   “Daang   Matuwid,”   to  carefully  scrutinize  and  select  its  local  candidates  in  the  City.      Unfazed  by  the  arsenal  of  charges  brought  against  him,  the  Councilor  defiantly  claims  every  City  scholar  previously  and  currently  enrolled  in  ACT  as  his  own,  i.e.,  “Scholars  ni  Bebot,”  as  if  he  were  the  one  personally  paying  for  their  schooling  and  not  the  taxpayers  of  the  City.  To   say   that   he   is   frying   the   people   in   their   own   lard,   i.e.,   using   their   taxes   to   give   their  children  a  mere  semblance  of  an  education  while  profiting  enormously  in  the  bargain  is  an  understatement.  For  what  he  is  doing  is  the  worst  kind  of  criminal  enrichment.                                                                                                                    8  Philip  Banguiran  vs.  Abellanosa  (Docket  OMB-­‐V-­‐C-­‐13-­‐0022,  OMB-­‐V-­‐A-­‐13-­‐0025)  and  Aristotle  B.  Batuhan  v.  Abellanosa  dated  23  January  2013  (for  docketing);  Aristotle  Batuhan  v.  Hon.  Rodrigo  Abellanosa,  OP-­‐DC  Case  No.  13-­‐A-­‐006  

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What  a  Shame!    What  a  crying  shame  if,  using  precious  scholarship  funds  unlawfully  amassed  from  the  City  he  purports  to  serve,  Councilor  Abellanosa  should  succeed  in  buying  himself  a  seat  in  the  next  Philippine  Congress.  But  there  can  be  no  greater  shame  than  for  the  LP  to  knowingly  aid   and   abet   the   candidacy   of   so   duplicitous   a   public   official,   a   man   bereft   of   all   moral  scruples,  as  Councilor  Abellanosa.      In  the  Councilor’s  own  words,  we  exhort  the  LP  to  ACT  NOW!  Spare  the  nation  the  tragedy  of  having  such  a  man  of  proven  greed  and  avarice  in  the  halls  of  Congress!    

   

Aggrieved  Residents  of  Cebu  City  South  (2nd)  District  Abante  Barangay  Movement        University  of  San  Carlos  Stand  Alumni  Association          

Bag-­‐Ong  Sugbu  Foundation      Gen  Y  Clubs  of  Cebu        Abante  Barangay  Youth  Movement  Transform  Our  Lives  Movement  

         

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato

                   

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Page 2 of the General Information Sheet of Asian College of Technology, Inc. filed by Corporate Secretary Erwin Verano on May 25, 2011, declaring Rodrigo A. Abellanosa to be the Chairman of the Board (“C”) and President (“PRE”) of the Company

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Signature Page of the Memorandum of Agreement dated 24 June 2010 among the City, represented by then City Mayor Tomas Osmena; “Colleges and Universities,” represented by Rodrigo Abellanosa, President of Asian College of Technology; and the Department of Education

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ACT Flyer prominently advertising the anomalous Public-Private Partnership between ACT and the City ostensibly “For the Poor Families

of Cebu City,” and the Certificate of Financial Grant with which the Councilor attempts to lure City (and, with the looming elections in mind, even non-City) scholars with the pretense of a “cash” subsidy provided

they enroll on or before May 25, 2013.  

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Giant tarpaulins all over the City featuring ACT owner, founder, and President Rodrigo “Bebot” Abellanosa, No. 1 Cebu City

Councilor, trumpeting: “Cebu City Scholarship + Scholarship Ni Bebot = FREE College.” “ACT NOW!”

 

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