Senator Raffy Tulfo chided the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) over its ineffective public assistance and complaints hotline, which is supposed to serve as the first point of contact for students with grievances against their schools.
During the Subcommittee hearing of the Senate Committee on Higher Education on Senate Resolution No. 1302, Tulfo discussed complaints filed by students against Bestlink College of the Philippines.
“Had CHED maintained an active and responsive hotline, it would have been easier for affected students to report such incidents.”
According to the complaint, students were allegedly forced to join an off-campus activity that ended tragically. The legislator stressed that had CHED maintained an active and responsive hotline, it would have been easier for affected students to report such incidents.
Before the hearing, a staff member from the lawmaker’s office posed as a student and attempted to contact CHED’s official hotline. Upon mentioning the name of a school involved, the CHED employee immediately referred the caller to the supposed NCR Regional Office responsible for the institution. However, the number provided was non-functional.
Worse, when the staff member called back, he was simply referred to the government’s general citizens’ complaint hotline, 8888, and advised to “just Google” the email address of the regional office.
During the hearing, Tulfo grilled CHED NCR Regional Director Dr. Jimmy Catanes for failing to address the issue, despite admitting he was aware of it. Catanes claimed he found out about the problem when he assumed office in January 2025 and had since requested a new hotline number: 8403-2247.
To test its effectiveness, Tulfo called the new hotline during the hearing–but to his frustration, the CHED employee who answered still referred him back to the old, non-working number.
“Review and overhaul CHED’s grievance mechanisms.”
Tulfo urged Catanes to review and overhaul CHED’s grievance mechanisms.
He also recommended that CHED remove all inactive hotline numbers listed on its website and replace them with working contact lines capable of addressing student concerns promptly.
Dr. Catanes agreed with the senator’s proposals.
