General Santos City — The Ministry of Basic Higher and Technical Education of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has created a special investigation committee to look into the alleged extortion and selling of position for teachers that amounted to at least P300,000.

In a statement, MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal stressed that the allegations are tainting the reputation of the Ministry.

This comes after Kapatagan town, Lanao del Sur Mayor Raida Maglangit through her Facebook account divulged that a P300,000 fee is allegedly collected just to get a teacher position.

She even said that despite of the qualifications and even with masters' degree, some candidates are being dropped because they could not afford the fee.

"I have created a special committee to ferret out the truth…We are not saying that this is happening in the Ministry, we are not also saying that it is happening outside the Ministry, but we will assure you that we shall give teeth to the committee to investigate and find the truth in and outside the Ministry of Basic Higher and Technical Education. We will leave no stones unturned, we will find the truth," Iqbal said.

The minister also lamented that being a cum laude is not only the basis of being hired and there are processes needed to be followed, adding that a candidate must possess the basic requirements such as relevant course graduated, the relevant Civil Service qualifications, trainings, oral and written results, among others.

Iqbal added that all applicants aspiring for a position gone through rigorous competitive processes before they will be ranked. He firmly believed that there are no irregularities in getting of teachers by MBHTE, however, it is important for the truth to come out and punish those who are found out to be doing the illegal acts.