THE court has approved the compromise agreement between the Cebu City Government and Asian College of Technology International Education Foundation Inc. (Actief) to settle the case the City had filed against the school to determine if it would be legal to pay what it owed in scholars’ tuition.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña posted on his Facebook account the decision of the court penned by Judge Ricky Jones Macabaya of the Regional Trial Court Branch 5 and issued on November 17.
With the decision, Osmeña said scholars of the City Government will be able to get their credentials already.
"I am proud to announce that the court has approved the compromise agreement between the City Government and ACT! What this means is that as soon as payment is made, your TORs can finally be released," Osmeña said in the post.
Based on the court decision, Actief, formerly Asian College of Technology, will accept from the City Government P56 million, which represents the tuition of the first and second semesters of academic year 2014-2015 as full settlement of the claims, demands and causes of action of the City.
Actief initially billed the City P136.9 million, which represents the payment for first and second semesters of academic year 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.
A separate billing, which represents the first and second semesters of academic year 2015-2016 amounting to P23.2 million, was also sent to the City.
"I know many of you have been waiting for years. I promised you that I would fix the mess we were left with. I have not forgotten. We’re almost there. All that’s needed now is clearance from COA. In light of the court ruling, this will not be a problem," said Osmeña.
He added that the government targets to release the TORs by early 2018.
"I hope this brings you a little Christmas cheer," Osmeña said. (Razel V. Cuizon/VoxPop Cebu)