The Senate Committee on Higher Education has ratified a measure providing for a moratorium on payments of student loans in cases of accident or emergency situations.
This as Ryan Esteves, executive director of the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), an attached agency of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) told the senators it would strengthen the student loan program.
The UniFAST posted a 99.67 percent overall budget utilization rate of its 2020 allotment for the implementation of programs under RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
However, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) inquired if this has jurisdiction over promissory notes which can be considered as loans, in which case the operation of private higher education institutions will be jeopardized in times of crisis.
The COCOPEA said they also need to pay the salaries of employees on top of operating expenses.
The UNIFAST responded saying it would conduct a thorough study on the issue because the intention of the student loan program is to pay it to the bank on installment basis.
But committee chair Sen. Francis Escudero pointed out that the law does not cover promissory notes, only the student loans.