MANILA -- Senator Raffy Tulfo found the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) budget decisions concerning the Legal Education Board (LEB) rude and unfair during the hearing of the Senate committee on higher, technical, and vocational education Tuesday.

Tulfo noted the past decision of CHED to slash the budget of the LEB, the agency that is mandated to administer legal education in the country.

“Ang sa akin lang, kabastusan itong ginagawa ng CHED, e kung mag-slash sila ng budget ninyo na pinaghirapan niyo i-formulate... without telling you why and how they came up with the decision, so kabastusan talaga ang ginagawa ng CHED,” Tulfo said.

LEB Chairperson Anna Marie Melanie Trinidad noted the disapproval of additional P50 million on their budget despite appeals from Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

“I’d like to think marami lang po talaga silang ginagawa but then again, if that goes on, wala na rin po kaming magagawa—sila [maraming magagawa] pero kami wala,” Trinidad said.

Sen. Francis Escudero, head of the said Senate committee, then explained the budget process of government agencies which makes “dream scenarios” which will then be haggled with the Department of Budget and Management.

“Once submitted to congress, it has been the practice na ‘pag binawasan, tinatanggap na lang ng mga ahensya,” Escudero said.

Tulfo then suggested that the LEB should be independent with CHED.

CHED Director Spocky Farolan, however, denied being unfair to the LEB.

“Hindi po namin iniiipit ang budget, mahal po namin ang LEB, actually kinikilala po ng CHED ang kahalagan ng LEB."

Farolan emphasized however that the commission has very limited budget like any other government agency.

“Ang sinasabi naman namin sa LEB, kung kinakailangan, may mga pondo, kailangan lang nilang magbigay ng mga realistic, feasible proposal na kailangan namin hanapan ng pondo,” Farolan said.

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