Joseph Azil Buena

In its 2023 annual report, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged significant delays and documentation issues with the release of funds for the Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute’s (DOST-SEI) scholarship program, raising concerns about the project’s effectiveness and transparency.


Student beneficiaries of the Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program (ASTHRDP) have experienced delays of one up to twelve months upon receiving their financial assistance.

“The SEI did not formulate policy and mechanism to ensure the efficient implementation of the ASTHRDP scholarship program, thereby the timely submission of reports by the member universities of the consortium was not observed,” COA said.

COA also noted the absence of standardized guidelines for fund disbursement, with some universities releasing funds monthly, while others doing it quarterly, and even by every semester. 

“Having no policy or guidelines on the frequency of the release of financial assistance to scholars affects the efficient implementation of the scholarship program,” the state auditors said.

The delay in financial aid has reportedly forced some postgraduate students to take on part-time jobs to meet daily expenses, a move that violates the terms of their scholarship contracts.

The report also revealed ASTHRDP scholars' frustrations over the DOST-SEI and coordinators failing to provide updates or respond to email inquiries regarding their scholarship status.

Under the ASTHRDP, Master’s and Doctoral students who underwent a rigorous process of research evaluations and interviews will benefit from full financial support, including free tuition, monthly stipends of ₱30,000 to ₱38,000, a ₱10,000 allowance for learning materials, dissertation grants between ₱60,000 and ₱100,000, and premium insurance coverage.

The program is designed to develop Filipino scholars into expert science and technology researchers, bolstering the Philippine’s performance in global competitiveness and innovation.

‘Lesser and lesser accounted for’

In its annual report, state auditors accounted that out of the scholarship funds worth P642.109 million given to universities in 2023, only 16.40 percent were liquidated, meaning P536.90 million are still left untracked.

This, in addition to the P1.211 billion unliquidated funds from the DOST-SEI since 2021, holds a total of P1.748 billion worth in transferred funds meant for scholars over the years that are still considered as not yet disbursed.

In comparison to the utilization rate or the transfer of funds to DOST-SEI which peaked at 100 percent in 2021, 97.75 percent in 2022, and down to 79.71 percent in 2023, the liquidation rate was noticeably lower.

This discrepancy shows that a large part of the funds released lacked proper documentation.

COA also reiterated that transferring the funds to recipient schools does not necessarily mean disbursement or that the funds reached the scholars themselves.

With the low disbursement rate in 2023, the unspent funds are likely to be returned to the Bureau of the Treasury after a designated period.