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PSU official keen on graft charges against prexy

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan (Mar. 31) — A top opposition official of Pangasinan State University (PSU) is confident that the corruption charges against University President Rodolfo Asanion will land the hands of the Ombudsman.

PSU Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Benigno Castro said the case, lodged at NBI Dagupan is awaiting results on the handwriting test being done to compare the signatures allegedly falsified in public documents before being housed at the Ombudsman.

The ‘anomalous signatures’ were found in documents involving repairs of private vehicles, three Fuzo trucks and a Kia double cab pick-up costing P454, 650 by Bebot Auto Repair Shop in Bgy. Nancayasan in Urdaneta City. In earlier reports, Peregrino Ancheta owner of the shop denied having transactions with the university.

Another issue, the funding of the Corn Productivity Enhancement Project with a P20 million loan from Quedan Rural Credit Guarantee and Lending Corp., (Quedancor) wasn’t paid any installment in more than three years which now incurs about P13 million in interest alone.

Maira Paliso, Quedancor District Supervisor said the PSU Administration and the agency’s central body is undergoing a negotiation to remedy the ballooning debt. Paliso said when PSU applied for the loan in 2002, the collateral agreed upon was supposed to be the income generated from the project.

Castro said the university was even forced to source out funds from regular income to prop up the project. He said the projects which followed have not raised as much profit to augment the university’s meager budget. Among these is the Business Operation Management Office (BOMC) which has P1.3 million fund as capital with only P200,000 left at present and the coconut plantation in Infanta where about P35 million was used to buy 10,000 coconut for planting, in partnership with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). “With PCA backing out, all the planted coconuts were declared dead but the truth is they were burned,” Castro said.

Citing the P250 million or so allocation from the national government, he said the income generating projects (IGPs) were meant to sustain operational expenditures with academic affairs as top priority. “The president, perhaps using his power, gave priority on infrastructure projects which cast doubts among lower ranks,” he said explaining, “because funds going to these projects are easily manipulated”.

The charges were filed by opposition group F9 Movement which according to Castro aims to clear issues “to regain trust in the administration for the sake of the university” and not to attack certain personalities.

A Fraud Audit team was ordered by the Commission on Audit to investigate other issues pointed by the movement.

“A culture of corruption stemming up to the lowest ranks have flourished,” Castro revealed saying, “Students complain because a number of instructors collect unexplainable amounts”. The movement has urged the administration to put in place an anti-corruption mechanism in the university.

Castro was a former VP for Administration which he admittedly said a powerless position to denounce ‘anomalous contracts’ thereby forcing him to resign and opt for his current position. He said the funds of the state university must be used to serve the interest of poor students who couldn’t avail of high tuition in private schools.# Jhong de la Cruz for NORDIS

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