OUR column on April 17 regarding the gripes of the students and faculty of Mindanao State University (MSU) against their president and main campus (Marawi) chancellor, lawyer Paisalin Pangandaman “Popoy” Tago, generated significant interest, leading to our suddenly receiving additional information regarding how Tago is running the MSU’s affairs.
For first-time readers, here’s a summary of what the students and faculty at the College of Medicine and College of Agriculture posted on social media that we wrote about:
“President Tago, in the name of ‘austerity’ and in line with President Bongbong Marcos’ directive for all government agencies to cancel all ‘unnecessary travel’ due to the crisis brought about by the ongoing war in the Middle East, denied travel authority to the students and accompanying faculty members of the two colleges to attend two separate student congresses in Metro Manila and Tangub City, Misamis Occidental some two weeks ago.
“Twenty-six students from the College of Medicine and about 50 students from the College of Agriculture were affected by the decision. We were later informed that one of the medical students, Bryan Jamas Dumaloan, was supposed to be recognized as one of the nation’s ‘best’ medical students. This was naturally a great disappointment to his family and a greater loss of prestige for MSU, which the award could have brought to the school.”
As we mentioned, Tago is not from the academe but a politician, having served as a deputy speaker of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliament and transportation and communications minister of the BARMM government until his surprising resignation in May 2025, all the while allegedly claiming he would soon head the MSU.
To nobody’s surprise, he got the position on the strength of the endorsement of his cousin, then-Budget secretary Amenah Pangandaman, the sources said.
In other words, Tago is a political appointee now in charge of the country’s second-largest state university system after the University of the Philippines.
And this is where Tago’s background must have played a role in his decision to deny MSU students their opportunity for career development and advancement: the inability to exercise his discretionary authority when the situation calls for it.
For the students, their attendance does not fall under “unnecessary travel” considering that their participation is part of their course requirement. As they also noted, the MSU would not spend a single centavo as it would be them and their families who would pay for everything — from plane fares to hotel accommodation, etc.
From the list that we saw, each medical student would have spent an average of P20,000 each, pocket money not included, for a sizable total of more than P474,000.
Sadly, we were informed that some of them had fallen into debt because they could no longer refund their plane fares and hotel accommodation as “budget fares” are nonrefundable.
According to sources, Tago met with some parents of the students and reportedly assured them their expenses would be “refunded.” This is indeed reassuring — if the money would be coming out of his own pocket.
Now, if the money would be sourced from MSU’s own funds, the concerned parents might as well kiss their money “goodbye,” given the stacks of requirements needed to be complied with before the Commission on Audit (COA) will even glance at any application.
Since Tago refused to issue the travel authority — the first of many requirements — the rest cannot also be complied with. And if by some miracle COA approved the reimbursement, it would be several months of waiting before they are actually paid, depending on “the availability of funds.”
And speaking of COA, Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba might want to extend to the MSU the “special audit” he ordered last August 2025 on the expenditures of the BARMM Transition Authority under former chief minister Murad Ebrahim — where Tago was a key member as we noted previously.
We believe COA has enough personnel to validate fresh information provided to us that the “redesign” of the Office of the System President at the Administration Building inside the Marawi main campus has been described as “hotel-like” by some observers.
Similar concerns have been raised regarding the MSU Guest House, which serves as the official residence of the system president who is none other than Tago. Accounts describe “extensive upgrades” and “high-end interior modifications,” also allegedly carried out without a documented program of works, following a reimbursement-based approach to expenses.
We suggest that Cordoba shows some interest because in all our years as a reporter, this is the first time that we heard of this so-called reimbursement-based approach on capital expenses.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla and Executive Secretary Ralph Recto may also want to look into the serious allegation that a monthly “payola” in the “five figures” exists, connected to the three-year contract between MSU and a private internet service provider.
Our “concerned citizens” over there at MSU said Remulla and Recto should not be surprised if the official in charge turns out to be a relative of Tago.
They are urging quick action from the concerned authorities because aside from these potential scandals that can impact on the Marcos administration’s credibility, the situation at the MSU may also result in a diplomatic row with Malaysia.
According to sources, Tago presented the renovation of the King Faisal Mosque at the Marawi campus as an “MSU-funded initiative,” despite its allegedly being funded through a donation from Malaysia. Questions are now being raised over proper attribution and recognition of the renovation’s funding source.
We surely do not want this alleged “credit-grabbing” incident at the MSU to be an added irritant during our chairmanship of Asean this year.
We welcome president Tago’s explanation on the issues raised in this corner.
