CHED Approves Increase in Tuition and Other Fees for 268 Private HEIs Nationwide

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) released today the approved applications of 268 private higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country to increase their tuition and other school fees for academic year 2017-2018.

The approved applications represent 16 percent of the total number of 1,652 private HEIs in the country. This is 36 HEIs lower than the reported 304 HEIs last academic year.Of the 268 private HEIs, 262 will increase tuition while only 237 will increase other school fees.

Across the private HEIs with approved increases in either tuition or other school fees, the average increase in tuition is 6.96% or the equivalent of PhP86.68 per unit, while increase in other school fees is 6.9% or PhP243.

Considering the total population of private HEIs, the average increase in tuition or other school fees is about 1%. The increases vary depending on the HEI and the region.

In regions with the highest number of HEIs, the average per unit increase in tuition is PhP119.55 or 4.75% for NCR, PhP49.07 or 3.05% for Region IV, and PhP49.50 or 8.64% for Region III. For other school fees, the increases are PhP49.82 or 5.28% for NCR, PhP408.70 or 5.90% for Region IV, and PhP974.26 or 10.73% for Region III.

AXN Extends Asia’s Got Talent Online Auditions Deadline to June 8, 2017

Wazzup Pilipinas!
Due to an overwhelming response from across Asia, AXN has extended the Asia’s Got Talent Online Auditions to midnight on June 8, 2017.

After captivating rounds of open auditions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines, AXN is giving aspiring performers one last chance to take the spotlight in its record-breaking series.

“We’ve witnessed some incredible acts over the last few weeks that really show the cultural diversity and range of awe-inspiring talent on offer here in Asia. But we know there’s even more to be discovered so we’ve extended the deadline to June 8 to give performers some more time to get their acts together,” said Virginia Lim, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Production and Marketing, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

Potential stars can visit www.AXN-Asia.com/AsiasGotTalent to submit an application and audition video, which should include a short introduction of the act, and the actual performance. The videos should be under two minutes’ in duration.

More details including Asia’s Got Talent frequently asked questions (FAQs) and the terms and conditions of participation are available at www.AXN-Asia.com/AsiasGotTalent.

Asia’s Got Talent is slated to premiere in the second half of 2017, first and exclusively on AXN.

Traveloka is the official sponsor of Asia’s Got Talent.

Join the conversation via AXN’s Facebook page @AXNAsia

@AsiasGotTalent / #AXNAsia / #AsiasGotTalent / #AsiasGotTalentAudition



www.AXN-Asia.com/AsiasGotTalent

Yes to Peace, No to Martial Law

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Akbayan grieves with the people of Marawi, thousands of whom were displaced by the continuing clashes in their home city while many others are still trapped amid the crossfire. The death toll is now at 97, while the airstrikes continue to damage property and livelihood of Marawi residents. In the face of clashes between the Maute group and the government troops, it is the people who suffer most the consequences of violence. 

We also applaud the bravery of many who have opened their homes to the exodus of people and the people from all around the country who have initiated donation drives to help our fellow Filipinos in Mindanao. 

We however condemn the far-reaching Martial Law declaration of the President and the suspension of the privilege of writ of habeas corpus as a disproportionate and extreme response to the Maute group; instead of ending terrorism and promoting peace, such extreme response to the Maute group threatens to further escalate violence in the region. Peace, more often than not, is the casualty of Martial Law.

It is also important to point out that Duterte’s martial law is not the martial law that is envisioned under the 1987 constitution. It is akin to Marcos’s 1972 martial law that recognizes no checks and balance. The President not only blatantly boasts of how harsh his martial law will be, as inspired by Marcos’s bloody rule, he further threatens to ignore both its co-equal branches, the Congress and the Supreme Court. 

We in Akbayan do not doubt his capacity to keep true to his bloody promise, we only need to look at the more than 8,000 dead in his equally terrifying war on drugs. 

We therefore call on both houses of Congress to band together in providing the needed safeguards to the President’s reign of terror and convene a joint session immediately. 

We remind Congress that there are no shortcuts to peace. Fighting terrorism is not the only ingredient to lasting peace in Mindanao. They must be at the forefront of scrutinizing any policy measure that masquerades as a silver bullet for peace, especially if this silver bullet will serve to spill more blood on the soils of Mindanao. 

No to Maute terrorism, but in equal measure, we also say no to authoritarianism! Never again to martial law!