Duterte Administration Banned CHED Chairperson To Attend Cabinet Meetings
Commission on Higher Education Chairperson – CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan was banned from attending cabinet meetings under Duterte administration.
On Monday (December 05, 2016), CHED chairperson Licuanan told the reporters that she received a text message that telling her to stop attending Cabinet meetings under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The text message was sent by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr on Sunday (December 04, 2016). The CHED head also refers the same text message received by Vice President Leni Robredo from Evasco.
The message was sent by the Cabinet secretary to Robredo and Licuanan, according to the instruction given by President Duterte through his special assistant to President Bong Go. Duterte’s order was a result of their irreconcilable differences of VP Robredo, according to the officials of Malacañang.
Robredo and Duterte came from different parties were Robredo came from the Liberal Party led by Mar Roxas. While, Duterte came from another party where he claims the victory for the presidency last May 2016.
Licuanan assured the public that the text message she received from Evasco was the same message received by Robredo but the CHED chairperson refused to give a copy of the text message.
“Where do I go from here?” and “Definitely not Cabinet meetings! I am still processing this. In the meantime, there is a lot of work to do at CHED,” said by Licuanan quoted by Rappler.
The CHED chairperson will continue to accomplish her duty in the Cabinet until 2018. She already expects to remain in the position even before Duterte took the presidency last June 2016.
Licuanan did not come from Duterte appointees but from the appointees of former President Benigno Aquino III.
Jose David Lapuz, Duterte’s former professor said that Duterte considers the idea of replacing Licuanan with someone who will lead the commission.
