Mutual aid fund anomaly exposed

Student Affairs dean denies allegations, resigns

by Jaemelyn G. Dela Cruz and Jayson B. Guadamor
(Cavite State University)

TEN-PESO mutual aid fee included in student fees every semester has been the source of an alleged corruption in the once of Student Affairs (OSA) as well as the cause of resignation of Dr. Alicia Rodrin, the OSA dean herself.

CSG probe

"Sinubukan ko dating kunin yang mutual aid fund na passbook kasi balita ko ay ang tagal nang nasa OSA,"   narrates Rodel Vincent Bae, Central Student Government (CSG) president on how he discovered the issue.

Bae, who is also the Student Regent (SR), added that every appropriation in the student fees has its own bank account including the collection steaded for mutual aid loan.

Moreover, the SR also said that passbooks for student fees' bank accounts should be held by student organizations since such fees were collected by some students for the welfare of the student body.

"Nung kinukuha ko yung (passbook of) mutual aid, ayaw [ng OSA]. Kanila daw yun.. Ang pinakiusap ko na lang ay buksan mulI yung mutual aid (loan) kasi ang daming estudyanteng nangangailangan,'' Bae furthered.

Last semester, Rodrin froze the mutual aid loan service because of many unpaid debts last academic year However, mutual aid loans re-opened this semester "Binuksan.. napagbigyan naman tayo. Pero nung nagbigay na kami ng application form, siyempre bine-verify namin, 'Ma'am may nakatanggap na po ba?' 'Ma'am sino-sino na po [yung nabigyan]?' na nakapagbigay na raw ng pera, so yun yung nagtaka ko na nakapagbigay na ng pera samantalang kasama ko kahapon si Ma'am Joana (Student Organization and Socia-Cultural Affairs head) na isa sa mga pipirma at ako, dapat kasama ako sa pipirma [ng mga form]. Kaya inalam ko ngayon sa Coop," Bae stated.

Bae added that at the CVSU Cooperative, the bank teller hesitated to disclose transactions done by of; for the mutual afd fund saying that it ls part of bank secrecy. But upon learning that the forbear is one of the signatories for mutual afd loan the bank teller gave him copies ol all documents regarding the fund.

Rodrin's defense

In a sworn statement Rodrin sent to The Gazette, she said that there was only a total of P80,000 cash withdrawal made last semester and P8,000 of it was loaned by two students despite her action of halting loans .

The remaining P72,000 from the total cash withdrawal maid last semester was "unintentionally kept at OSA" according to Rodrin.

"Hindi naman itinago, nakalimutan lang i-deposit," Rodrin said in a separate interview of The Gazette.

Furthermore, the OSA deal also attested that after opening this mutual aid loan this semester, the office had withdrawn a total of P120,000 and P30,000 of it was already loaned by ten students.

The remaining P90,000 from the total cash withdrawn this semester as well as the P72,000 cash withdrawn was deposited by Rodrin on Nov 18 with Bae and Joana Marie Tayag, SOSCA head as witness.

Other anomalies

According to an official list of unpaid loans, total amount loaned last semester was just P6,500 instead of P8,000 which Rodrin disclosed in her sworn statement.

Students who availed the loan last semester were: Jesryl Marvin Loyola of BS Business Management with an outstanding balance of P1,500 and Randy Kenneth of BS International Studies with an outstanding balance of P5,000.

Tayag, listed as the guarantor of Kenneth last semester, denied the record and stated that although Kenneth presented a promissory note she did not sign any application form.

Meanwhile, only Rodrin's signature was found on the signature card issued by the CvSU Cooperative. The signature card should bear the signature specimen of the OSA dean, SOSCA head, and a CSG official. The said signature card was issued since Nov. 15, 2011.

On the other hand, Bae added that Lani Lezare, Rodrin's secretary, is also also involved in the alleged misuse of mutual aid funds.

Bae also said that he, as well as Dr. Ma. Agnes Nuestro, vice president, Academic Affairs, and Dr. Divinia Chavez, University president, has been taking the proper measures regarding the said matter.

OSA dean no more following the issue, rumor about Rodrin's resignation as OSA dean spread. However, she refused to make a statement regarding the said matter.

"H'wag niyo munang isama, kasi kakausapin ko pa si Madama Chavez tungkol dito." Rodrin told The Gazette.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fe Dimero from the College of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Natural Resources serves as the current office-in-charge at OSA.

September-November 2013

VOL. XVII NO. 3