MANILA, Philippines – Senator Raffy Tulfo lambasted the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for maintaining an “ineffective” public assistance and complaints hotline, which he said failed to serve its purpose as a primary contact point for students with grievances against their schools.

The senator’s strong remarks came during a Subcommittee hearing of the Senate Committee on Higher Education on Senate Resolution No. 1302. During the hearing, Tulfo highlighted complaints from students of Bestlink College of the Philippines who were allegedly compelled to participate in a tragic off-campus activity. He emphasized that a functional CHED hotline could have facilitated easier reporting of such incidents by affected students.

To demonstrate the hotline’s inefficiency, a staff member from Tulfo’s office, posing as a student, attempted to contact CHED’s official hotline prior to the hearing. The CHED employee reportedly directed the caller to the supposed NCR Regional Office, but the provided number was non-functional. Upon a follow-up call, the staff member was merely referred to the government’s general citizens’ complaint hotline, 8888, and advised to “just Google” the regional office’s email address.

During the hearing, Tulfo grilled CHED NCR Regional Director Dr. Jimmy Catanes, who admitted awareness of the issue. Catanes claimed he became aware of the problem upon assuming office in January 2025 and had since requested a new hotline number: 8403-2247.

However, a live test by Senator Tulfo during the hearing proved equally frustrating. When he called the new hotline, the CHED employee who answered still referred him back to the old, non-working number.

Senator Tulfo urged Dr. Catanes to review and overhaul CHED’s grievance mechanisms. He also recommended the removal of all inactive hotline numbers from CHED’s website, advocating for their replacement with working contact lines capable of promptly addressing student concerns. Dr. Catanes reportedly agreed with the senator’s proposals.