MANILA – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) clarified that figures circulating online regarding audit findings reflect accumulated observations over several years, not just 2024. The agency also outlined steps being taken to address these findings.

In a statement, CHED said the amounts cited are related to Notices of Suspension (NS) and Notices of Disallowance (ND) issued by the Commission on Audit (COA), which are standard audit procedures requiring government agencies to validate transactions, provide complete documentation, and follow audit rules.

Some flagged transactions date back more than a decade and predate the current CHED leadership, which took office on June 2, 2025, under Chairperson Shirley Agrupis.

“Ang mga ito ay bahagi ng regular na audit process (These are part of the regular audit process),” Agrupis said. “Ito ay mga transaksyong kailangan pang ma-validate, maayos ang documentation, o maresolba ayon sa COA rules (These are transactions that still need to be validated, properly documented, or resolved according to COA rules).”

As of December 31, 2024, CHED recorded audit findings across its central and regional offices. The agency reported that 40.8 percent of these findings have been resolved as of March 19, 2026, through measures such as issuing demand letters, submitting supporting documents, and filing appeals with COA. CHED said these efforts have reduced the overall balance of NS and ND, based on internal reconciliations.

CHED provided further context on the sources of the audit observations. In its Regional Offices, many findings are connected to projects funded under the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), while in the Central Office, a significant portion is linked to the implementation of the Free Higher Education (FHE) program. Many of the flagged transactions involved funds already released to student-beneficiaries under FHE and the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES), with many recipients having already graduated.

The commission noted that several disallowances are not yet final, as they are either under appeal or pending COA’s final determination. CHED emphasized its ongoing cooperation with COA to resolve all findings, strengthen internal systems, and improve compliance mechanisms.

“Patuloy naming inaayos ang mga prosesong ito (We continue to improve these processes)—revisiting and updating policies and guidelines, strengthening monitoring, and making sure that every peso allocated to higher education is accounted for,” Agrupis said.

CHED also encouraged public scrutiny but urged careful interpretation of audit reports. “We are committed to resolving all findings and maintaining public trust,” she added.