The bill establishing a provincial office of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Bohol has passed on third and final reading at the Senate, a report says.
First District Representative Edgar Chatto pushed for the creation of a CHED field office in Bohol by filing House Bill 6120 in Congress on May 8, 2020.
Chatto partnered with Sen. Joel Villanueva who filed the counterpart measure at the Senate, which was approved by the Upper Chamber recently.
Chatto filed the proposed legislation to open a field office of CHED in Bohol at the onset of the Coronavirus disease (Covid) pandemic in 2020, to address inconveniences brought about by the lockdowns.
In the Central Visayas region, provinces are separated by bodies of water, hence transactions with government agencies have long been a challenge, especially during a pandemic,’as most regional offices are situated at Cebu City.
The establishment of a CHED field office in Bohol will prevent unnecessary expenses, effort, and waste of time on the part of the public, all of which have been, and continues to be aggravated, by the pandemic, Chatto explained.
The bill creating a field office of CHED in Bohoo is aligned with the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to improve delivery of public services in the provinces, the solon said.
In 2016, when Chatto was still governor of Bohol, he made representations that led to the opening of a CHED satellite office here to fast track transactions of the public with the aforementioned government agency.
Bohol is home to around 24 higher education institutions – both public and private, according to Chatto.
Students who need to apply for financial assistance, grants and scholarships as well as those who need to secure eligibility and other documentary requirements for employment and other education purposes are forced to travel to Cebu City to complete their transactions with the CHED.
The establishment of a CHED field office here will greatly improve the delivery of the said agency’s services to Boholanos, Chatto quipped.