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CHED issues a show cause order to Bestlink for engaging in unauthorized off-campus activities.
CHED Chairperson Popoy de Vera announced plans to issue a show cause order after students reported serious logistical problems during the event, including long wait times for transportation and overcrowding at the venue. The situation raised safety concerns, with some students likening their experience to historical tragedies. The investigation is further complicated by the college's past, including a deadly bus accident in 2017 that led to stricter regulations on field trips.
A private college in Quezon City is under investigation by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for allegedly conducting an unauthorized off-campus event without the necessary documentation.
CHED Chairperson Popoy de Vera announced on Monday, January 27, that the commission plans to issue a show cause order to Bestlink College of the Philippines after it celebrated its founding anniversary at a resort in Bataan.
"The CHED Commission en banc has discussed the issue, and a show cause order will be issued against Bestlink College for holding an off-campus activity without submitting the required documents to CHEDRO NCR," he stated.
De Vera also directed CHED's National Capital Region director, Jimmy Catanes, to investigate online claims that the college required students to pay for the event while providing inadequate transportation and safety measures.
Students have taken to social media to report significant logistical issues during the January 26 event, with many left stranded for hours without transportation back to Manila. Some students reported waiting up to six hours to board buses to the venue, and during the return trip, many were allegedly left behind at the resort due to a lack of buses for Bestlink students. Some posts likened the situation to the "Bataan death march."
Attendees described overcrowding at the venue, which led to pushing and shoving, with one student reportedly sustaining foot injuries in the chaos. Others recounted a frightening moment when their bus struggled to ascend a hill, nearly rolling into a ravine.
In February 2017, a bus carrying Bestlink students on a field trip lost its brakes and crashed into an electricity post in Tanay, Rizal, resulting in 15 fatalities and injuring around 40 students. This incident prompted CHED to impose a moratorium on field trips, which was lifted in December of the same year. — Cristina Chi
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