Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
City of Manila, Philippines

HOLY ASSUMPTA COLLEGES

Petitioner

CASE NO.: 040319 CHED 2019

versus

HOLY FATIMA UNIVERSITY OF CABANATUAN CITY

AND HOLY FATIMA UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI CITY

Respondent

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POSITION PAPER FOR PETITIONER

COMES NOW, petitioner, unto this Honorable Office, most respectfully

submits this Position Paper and states that:
 STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This is a complaint filed by HOLY ASSUMPTA COLLEGES (Petitioner)

against HOLY FATIMA UNIVERSITY OF CABANATUAN CITY AND HOLY
FATIMA UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI CITY (Respondent) in violation of Article IX
Section 40 of the Manual of Regulations for Private Higher
Education(MORPHE).

In the year 2002, Holy Grail Colleges, the neighboring school of Holy
Assumpta Colleges, both offering primary, secondary, tertiary, and vocational
courses, was acquired by Holy Fatima University of Makati City, a private
school in the City of Manila. Immediately after the acquisition, Holy Grail
Colleges was named Holy Fatima University of Cabanatuan City. The
conversion of Holy Grail Colleges to Holy Fatima University caused a decline in
the number of enrollees of the petitioner school, Holy Assumpta Colleges, due
to reasons by students of the petitioner intending to finish a 4-year degree in
an academe under the status of a university.

Holy Assumpta College now comes to this honorable board to question

the validity of the said conversion if such conversion is abiding by the proper
procedure in the application of an academe to university status. Article IX
Sec.41 of the Manual of Regulation of Private Higher Education provides that:

Sec. 41: Standard Requirements: The commission, after an

evaluation of the application, may grant a university status to a higher
education institution that has complied with the requirement as follows:

1. Degree Programs. The higher education institution currently

operates recognized degree programs as follows:
A. a four-year degree program in Liberal Arts
B. a four-year program in the Basic Sciences/Mathematics
C. a four-year program in the Social Sciences
 D. at least three (3) other active and duly recognized professional
programs that require special studies towards a specific
competence and license to practice; and,
E. at least two (2) graduate level programs leading to a doctoral
degree.
2. Accreditation. The higher education institution must have Level III
accreditation or its equivalent for any one of its graduate programs.
3. Instruction. The higher education institution must exhibit a
continuing quest for excellence in instruction through the quality of
its educational programs, outstanding achievements of its students,
and above national average performance in majority of the programs
offered requiring government examinations.
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Petitioner hereby humbly submits to this honorable office to issue an

order revoking the university status of Holy Fatima University of Cabanatuan
City for not complying with the proper procedure of conversion to a university
status of an academe pursuant to Sec. 42 of MORPHE which provides that:

“Section 42. Revocation of University Status. The commission may

revoke the university status granted to a higher education institution
for cause and after due process. The inability of an institution to
maintain compliance with the substantive conditions provided in the
immediately preceding section is considered a valid basis for revocation”

The continuous use of the respondent school of the title university is

prejudicial to the part of the petitioner school considering that the prestigious
difference between an academe with only a label of college as compared to an
institution of higher learning that carries with it a university status.
 The said conversion of the respondent school into a university is not in
accordance with the rules laid down by the Commission on Higher Education.
It is a well settled rule under the jurisdiction of this honorable office that such
conversion to be valid, it must undergo accreditation to wit the respondent
school failed to abide by.

The pertinent issues of the present case revolve around the following:

WHETHER OR NOT THE CONVERSION TO A UNIVERSITY STATUS WAS

PROPER WITH RESPECT TO THE MANUAL OF REGULATIONS FOR
PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION.

WHETHER OR NOT THE GRANT OF UNIVERSITY STATUS TO HOLY

FATIMA UNIVERSITY OF CABANATUAN CITY SHOULD BE REVOKED

DISCUSSION

We humbly submit to the honorable office that it is necessary to undergo

the accreditation process before the grant of the university status. The school
must first have complied with the requirements imposed by the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED). Clearly, the respondents did not abide by the said
process, because the university status was immediately transferred upon
purchase.

The act alone is injurious and prejudicial to other competitors. Clearly,

students will have more interest in an academe offering a degree with a
university status rather than an institution with only a college label. Students
nowadays are concerned about their future career path. If for instance, a
student, upon graduating from a prestigious university, will apply for a vacant
position in a firm, with the other applicants for the vacant position having
graduated from an academe labeled only as a college, setting discrimination
aside, the hiring process is mostly in favor to the student who graduated from
a university. A university is considered as a prestigious place for learning
considering it’s status. Not all academic institutions can acquire university
status unless granted by competent authority, whereas in this case, the
honorable Board.

Furthermore, the necessary requirements were not fully complied.

Respondent university, while operating under the name HOLY FATIMA
UNIVERSITY OF CABANATUAN CITY, failed to secure the following
requirements:

1. Recognition by the Commission on Higher Education

2. Authority to Operate granted by the Commission on Higher Education
3. Permit to Operate issued by the Commission on Higher Education

The petitioner now humbly submits to the honorable Office this formal
document for resolution regarding the matters which was raised in the Position
Paper.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this

honorable Office that after due proceedings judgement be rendered in favor of
the petitioner for the revocation of the university status of Holy Fatima
University of Cabanatuan City, and that damages be awarded.

Mr. Juliano D. Maunauna, MBA

President, Holy Assumpta Colleges
Petitioner

EXPLANATION
Copy of this Position Paper was served and filed through registered mail
due to the distance and time constraints.