By Fatima Cielo Cancel/Manila Times

About 100 universities and colleges in Metro Manila will collect higher tuition for the next school year if the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will approve their petitions, Kabataan Partylist said.

Rep Raymond Palatino of Kabataan partylist said that CHED received 2,000 applications for tuition fee hike from schools, universities and colleges nationwide. However, only 300 petitions were granted permission.

This was revealed by CHED during the Regional Multisectoral Committee on Tuition and Other Fees meeting on March 21. The event was attended by representatives of public and private universities, faculty unions, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP).

“Year after year, CHED fails to implement tuition regulation policies, in effect serving as a mere stamp pad for pre-approved fee hikes,” Palatino said.

According to the NUSP, the multisectoral meeting organised by CHED came too late because the consultations on proposed tuition fee increase for colleges and universities have already lapsed.

The universities and colleges seeking tuition hikes include the University of Sto. Tomas (5% increase); University of the East Main Campus in Recto, Manila (5%); Lyceum University of the Philippines (5%); University of the East-Caloocan campus (3.5%); Colegio de San Juan de Letran (8 to 10%); De La Salle University-Araneta (5%); and Adamson University (10%).

Manila offers  help for displaced

Agencies/Manila

About 4,700 Filipinos have fled Sabah due to the continuing armed conflict between the supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and the Royal Malaysian Police, the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The displaced Filipinos went to the southern Philippine provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the agency said, the
Xinhua reported.

The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development ( DSWD) has already provided food and non-food items to the returnees worth 23.79mn pesos ($581,662).

Six evacuation centres in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi have been pre-identified in anticipation of the influx of more displaced persons from Sabah, NDRRMC said.

Filipinos fled from Sabah after the Malaysian authorities launched a crackdown starting March 1 against Kiram followers who landed in Lahad Datu town in Sabah on Feb 12 to assert their claim in the resource-rich territory.

Lawyer wins damages claim against Smart Corp over phone disconnection

By Jomar Canlas/Manila Times

The Court of Appeals (CA) has granted the claim for damages by a lawyer against Smart Corp, Inc (Smart), after phone lines were disconnected despite payments in 1998.

In a 14-page decision penned by Associate Justice Elihu Ybanez and concurred by Associate Justices Japar Dimaampao and Victoria Isabel Paredes, the CA’s Fourteenth Division awarded the amount of more than 250,000 pesos to lawyer Manuel Camacho as actual, moral and exemplary damages.

The award given by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City to Camacho was P550,000 (inclusive of actual, moral and exemplary damages), but was reduced by the appellate court as it found it to be excessive.

On November 14, 1997, Camacho became plan zero Smart subscriber under one account with two lines in consideration of the payment of P10,950.

In 1998, Camacho received a statement of account covering two billing periods in the total amount of P3,569.51 which he had already paid in full on February 3, 1998 or a day before the due date. Camacho’s line was disconnected the following day.

The lawyer was advised to pay more than P4,000 and he paid the same to ensure his line was reconnected.

Despite payments, Camacho’s lines were cut in two separate occasions. Smart attributed the disconnection of phone services to Camacho exceeding his credit limit and failure to pay on the due date.

Subsequently, Camacho filed a complaint for damages for breach of contract against Smart. In 2006, the court ruled in favour of Camacho awarding him 550,000 pesos for damages.

In its decision, the appeals court held that it found no justification to reverse the findings of the lower court, but it lowered the award given to Camacho from P550,000 to P258,000.

“We find the amount…for moral damages to be just and reasonable,” the CA ruling said.

The court opined that it was Smart’s responsibility to send Camacho “a statement of account before the due date and to notify the latter that his account is approaching or has reached the credit limit.”

The CA said Smart had the duty to notify Camacho to the redirection of his line.

“The defendant-appellant (Smart) acted in bad faith when it failed to notify the plaintiff-appellant (Camacho) on time,” it added.

Appeals court nod to indict seven journalists

By Jomar Canlas/Manila Times

The Court of Appeals (CA) has given the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Lucena City the green-signal to proceed with the indictment of seven journalists charged with numerous counts of the crime of obscene publication 15 years ago.

In a 14-page decision penned by Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo and concurred by Associate Justices Franchito Diamante and Melchor Sadang, the Court’s Fifteenth Division denied the petition for review filed by Lito Bautista and others in connection with the crime of obscene publication under Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) filed against them at the Lucena RTC. Besides Bautista, who was the author of the articles in his column “Berde” published in Bandera newspaper, also charged were Pedro Juanitas, Alda Iglesia, Angelo Tranqued, Catalino Alano Jr, Frank Palad and John Doe “Andromeda.”

In 1995, Bandera supposedly published articles which were grossly obscene, indecent and immoral in several issues circulated in Lucena City and nationwide. Criminal information was filed against the accused with the Lucena RTC.