G.R. No.

110280 October 12, 1993

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES BOARD OF REGENTS and DR. OLIVIA C.

CAOILI in her capacity as Secretary of the Board, petitioners,
vs.
HON. ELSIE LIGOT-TELAN in her capacity as Presiding Judge of Branch 87, Regional
Trial Court of Quezon City and RAMON P. NADAL, respondents.

Issue: Whether or not Nadal’s right to due process was violated when the Board rendered a
decision finding the respondent guilty of charges against him.
Facts of the Case:
The University of the Philippines (UP) implemented the socialized scheme of tuition fee payments
known as the Iskolar ng Bayan Program or the Socialized Tuition Fee and Assistance Program.
After much deliberations, Congress was able to allocate a portion of the National Budget for the
implementation of the said program. The program offered benefits such as reduction in school
fees, living and book subsidies and student assistantships which shall benefit undergraduate
students to earn P12.00 an hour by working for the university.
Respondent Nadal was among those who applied for and benefitted from the program- along with
other applicants who were required to submit questionnaires declaring their family’s source of
income, their real and personal properties and special circumstances for consideration. Nadal was
enrolled in the College of Law and was subject to the random sampling scheme for the verification
of data required by the program.
A home investigation was conducted and Nadal’s aunt was the one who was interviewed. The
conflict arose when Urbino, the scholarship affairs officer, found discrepancies between the home
visit report and Nadal’s application form. The discrepancies revealed that respondent failed to
declare that he had been maintaining a 1977 Corolla car owned by his brother but also from the
income of his mother. The UP Committee then reclassified him to a lower bracket of the assistance
program and Nadal was expected to pay back the equivalent amount of full school fees with
interest.
UP charged Nadal before the Student Disciplinary Tribunal which held him liable for deliberately
withholding in formation about the income of his mother and the Corolla car. The SDT then
imposed the penalty of expulsion upon Nadal and required him to reimburse the amounts which
he has benefitted from. Failure of Nadal to do so would compel UP to resort to outside legal action.
The UP Board of Regents then discovered that Nadal previously received financial aid for the
Ateneo de Manila University, although such was previously denied through a phone call.
Succeeding the confirmation by Ateneo, a special meeting was held finding Nadal guilty. The
respondent then filed with the RTC a petition for mandamus with preliminary injunction and a
prayer for a temporary restraining order.
Decision:
No. University rules do not require the attendance in BOR meetings of individuals whose cases
are included as items on the agenda of the Board. Nadal has committed an act of dishonesty in
withholding vital information in connection with his application for STFAP benefits, all in
blatant violation of the Rules and Regulations on Student Conduct and Discipline of petitioner
University, the latter's inherent power and authority to impose disciplinary sanction may be
invoked and rightfully exercised. Therefore deciding that the BOR did not violate Nadal’s right to
due process.