CHED Employees Allege Fear, Favoritism, and Wasted Resources Under Agrupis

According to reports, employees of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have filed ethics and administrative complaints against Chairperson Shirley C. Agrupis, claiming that she abuses her position of authority and creates a culture of fear within the company.

The workers' concerns stem from Agrupis' purported insistence that she has a close relationship with First Lady Liza A. Marcos. Workers assert that Agrupis has exploited this alleged intimacy in a way that has given the impression that she is politically protected, even untouchable, despite the complaints and mounting criticism surrounding her leadership. Staff stress that Agrupis's own statements are the basis for the alleged relationship, and it's still unclear if the First Lady is even aware that her name is allegedly being used in this way. Concerns that Agrupis might still be reappointed and that the charges against her will be discreetly dropped have been raised by the accusation, which has cast a long shadow over the complaints.

Staff members have also expressed concerns about the use of CHED resources for official purposes. They make particular reference to a conference that purportedly screened a biographical presentation honoring Agrupis's life and career. They argue that the government funds and staff time allotted for the activity should have gone to programs directly related to the commission's educational mandate.

An additional grievance concerns educational resources that were initially intended for nationwide distribution. Workers claim that thousands of copies of these publications were left sitting in CHED warehouses after their distribution was halted, despite the fact that public funds had already been used to produce them. Some employees claim that the delay is due to the Chairperson's reluctance to promote materials that she did not personally create.

Internal critics of the agency also point to what they call inconsistent fiscal priorities. They note that many plantilla positions are still available and that Agrupis has publicly endorsed austerity. Because of the high vacancy rate, employees say the agency is understaffed and under stress. They argue, however, that spending on items they deem superfluous has continued. The result, according to workers, is a commission where image-building has taken precedence over the personnel needed to sustain core operations.

For many employees, the conflict has gone beyond a specific decision or management style. They argue that CHED should focus its efforts on strengthening higher education policy, helping state colleges and universities, and addressing the more important problems facing Philippine higher education.

The workers claim they are now making a direct appeal to the First Lady in the hopes that she will advocate for an unbiased evaluation of their grievances. They maintain that the appeal is motivated by a desire to rebuild public confidence in CHED and to guarantee that government resources benefit students, teachers, and higher education institutions rather than by internal politics or the head's propensity for self-aggrandizement.