THE Regional Trial Court of Dagupan has granted the petition of colleges and universities throughout the country against the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) in connection with the latter’s two resolutions on the phaseout of certain school programs that perform below par in licensure examinations.

The resolution was issued by RTC Judge Rolando Mislang in the face of the petition of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) questioning the validity of CHED Resolution No. 475 s. 2004 which set an eight percent ceiling of passing of graduates of educational institutions in government licensure examinations and CHED Resolution No. 20 s. 2005 which set the 30 percent ceiling of passing for nursing board examinations.

The Court’s order was in connection with civil action filed against the CHED by University of Luzon represented by its Acting president Dr. Mac Arthur Samson with PACU and the Dagupan-based Lyceum-Northwestern University entering themselves as petitioners-intervenors.

The petition for certiorari, prohibition and damages with prayer for temporary restraining order sought to restrain CHED from enforcing its two questioned resolutions that further provided sanctions to schools whose examinees cannot meet the ceilings set by the Commission for passing government’s licensure examinations.

PACU is an organization of 142 colleges and universities all over the Philippines. It sought a ruling on all the issues pertaining to the two questioned resolutions of CHED for these to be now resolved in its entirety before the RTC in Dagupan.

As this developed, Lyceum Northwester University, through its president, Dr. Gonzalo Duque, filed on Mar 22 this year a criminal complaint for libel against top officials of CHED and a nationally-circulated newspaper that put up an article which Duque said tended to cast aspersion on the integrity of LNU’s nursing school as an educational institution.

An article in the The Manila Times entitled “CHED to phase out 32 nursing schools” quoted Dr. Catherine Castañeda of the CHED’s office of programs and standards.

In his resolution, Judge Mislang enjoined CHED from implementing its two questioned resolutions and from issuing further statements in media, print or television or through Internet or through any forum that is derogatory or damaging to the petitioner-intervenor.

Duque, also a lawyer, explained that the decision of the court stated that the policies of CHED that set the ceilings for passing in government’s licensure examinations wee done abruptly without public hearing and without publication as required by Republic Act 7722 creating the charter of CHED.