Duterte threatened to sue former CHED chair Licuanan if she didn’t quit

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said he threatened to file charges against former Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Patricia Licuanan to force her to vacate her post.

Appearing at a gathering of Visayas and Mindanao local chief executives in Cebu City, Duterte lashed out anew at Licuanan whom he accused of excessive foreign travels and delaying the release of allowance and subsidies for CHED scholars.

“Sabi ko kay Bong [Go], 'Tawagan mo. Call. Sabihin mo kay [Executive Secretary Salvador] Medialdea. Either she steps down or I will file a case against her. Mamili siya,'” Duterte said.

The President did not say what case he would file against Licuanan, who quit on January 15 after admitting that she received a call from Medialdea days prior asking her to resign.

Licuanan earlier denied allegations of excessive travels, saying that the trips opened more opportunities to enhance the quality of higher education in the country.

She said she traveled eight times officially in 2017, with only five of these trips paid for by government, five times in 2016, six times in 2015, two times in 2014, and only three times in 2013.

"My office provided copies of travel papers signed by the Senior Deputy Executive Secretary authorizing me to meet specific commitments in line with CHED's internationalization mandate and allowing me to travel business class to avoid the recurrence of vertigo," Licuanan said.

As for delayed release of allowances, the former CHED leader cited factors such as discrepancies and deficiencies in documents, the volume of documentation that required thorough vetting following initial audit, and the need to abide with government accounting and auditing rules the agency had to comply with.

Licuanan was supposed to end her term in July. —KG, GMA News