7 firms willing to hire scholars without TORs

At least seven companies are willing to hire Cebu City scholars who graduated from Asian College of Technology International Educational Foundation (ACTIEF) even without their Transcript of Records (TOR).

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama met with representatives from over 20 agencies and private companies in the city to ask them to hire ACTIEF graduates, who still don’t have jobs.

The scholars could not find jobs nor take any licensure examination because the school is withholding their TORs pending City Hall’s payment of its P136-million dues for the past two school years.

“The Office of the Mayor and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella with Team Rama won’t abandon the students. We will stand by them,” Rama said in Cebuano.

Employers that agreed to help were Pages Holdings Inc., Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Eperformax, Cebu Home and Builders Center, and Cebu Overseas Hardware.

The Regional Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-7) also agreed to help while Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Ma. Teresa Chan committed to ask members of the chamber to do the same.

The representatives of the seven companies signed a statement of commitment after their meeting with the mayor yesterday.

“I share with the mayor the genuine need to spare the graduates while legal proceedings are ongoing. In support of the call of the mayor for help, our establishment commits to accept applicants who are graduates of ACTIEF even without their TORs provided they meet our admission requirements standards,” read the statement.

Rama made the statement during his regular news conference yesterday.

Rama said the other companies that attended also expressed their willingness to accept ACTIEF graduates, but would need approval from their top executives.

Other companies that attended the meeting included  Xerox Business Services; JY Square Mall; Lexmark; Diamond Suites and Residences; Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu; Mandarin Plaza Hotel; Bayfront Hotel; Ramon

Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.; Maple Restaurant; Sykes Asia Inc.; and Qualfon.

The mayor also announced that city scholars who continue to study in ACTIEF in the coming school year will still get their P1,000 allowance per semester from the city government. This covers over a hundred incoming first year scholars, he said.

But since the school has already filed a case against Rama to compel him to pay around P136 million in tuition from the past two school years, the mayor said the city will only release the P10,000 allowance if there’s a court order.

Rama also said ACTIEF has not been blacklisted in the city’s scholarship program. He said the school can still be accredited with the program as long as management complies with the proper procedures.

The school, two scholars and two parents have asked the court to stop Rama from excluding ACTIEF from the scholarship program and compel the mayor to pay the past due tuition of the scholars.

Rama has refused to pay up because the school’s founder, Cebu City south district Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa, was found guilty by the Ombudsman of grave misconduct.
Abellanosa was a city councilor when the school signed up for the scholarship program.