CHED wants to keep cash balance, trust funds

Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Robert Nazal has urged the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to exclude the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) from remitting cash balances and trust funds to the National Treasury.

- By DELON PORCALLA

During plenary deliberations on CHED’s proposed 2026 budget, Nazal pointed out that the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) still holds a balance of P11.7 billion, which he said should be used to support new grantees under the Tertiary Education Subsidy program.

While Executive Order 338, issued in 1996, requires government agencies — including state universities and colleges (SUCs) - to transfer their cash balances and trust funds to the National Treasury, Nazal argued that the HEDF is an exception.

Created by law to expand access to higher education, he said the fund was specifically intended to be maintained in a government financial institution, not the treasury.

“There are numerous students awaiting scholarship, and we cannot afford that these funds lay idle there without any purpose because thousands of our youth are still dreaming of reaching college in their education,” he said.

Nazal revealed that CHED owes about P12.3 billion to SUCs under the Free Tuition Fee Law, including P1.1 billion to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

He argued that the P11.7-billion HEDF should be tapped to finance new scholarships, while the P12.3-billion arrears must be settled immediately.

“The law is clear: these funds should be placed in a government financial institution, nor locked in the National Treasury,” he said.

The HEDF, with a standing balance of P11 billion, earns around P2 billion annually. If invested at five percent interest, it could yield at least P550 million a year for additional scholarships, according to Nazal.

“If DBM insists on controlling the fund, even the interest should be spent exclusively for college scholarships,” he added. “But once it is commingled with the general fund, the money is moved around and no longer serves the very students it was intended for.”

Funding demands