(The author was an Inquirer?s Palawan correspondent until she joined the Bangkok-based Asian News Network as assistant editor.)

BANGKOK?A Thai minister may lose his Cabinet post after doubts were raised about his bachelor?s degree from a little-known Philippine school.

Sutha Chansaeng, minister of social development and human security, claimed he graduated from Republican College in Quezon City in the Philippines in quelling a newspaper report that he just finished Grade 12, or the equivalent of secondary school. The Thai Constitution requires Cabinet members to have at least a bachelor?s degree.

A first-time minister, Chansaeng, 48, told his public relations officers to explain to the media that he graduated from Republican College with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce (Management) degree in 1984.

?Our records show that he indeed graduated from our school in 1984,? Ditas Lapata, a staff member of the 59-year-old school?s registrar?s office, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

The records include the Special Order and Certificate of Authentication and Verification issued by the Commission on Higher Education to graduates of any course, she said.

The registrar, Dr. Homobono Aguiling II, and other officials were not available for comments Wednesday.

Passport mystery

The controversy took a new twist when it was discovered that Chansaeng was issued a passport for the first time in 1994, a decade after he graduated from Republican College, which is located at 42 18th Ave., Murphy, Quezon City.

Thai foreign ministry officials have refused to disclose details about Chansaeng?s passport, citing his right to privacy.

The Daily Xpress newspaper reported that Chansaeng had never specified the degree as educational background in official documents.

In 1985, the newspaper said, his campaign flyer for the Bangkok City council elections stated his maximum education as Grade 12. But another flyer in last year?s general elections listed ?Advanced Diploma and Certificate in Logistics and Transport.?

Chansaeng said he did not claim his degree from the Philippines earlier because that country?s Civil Service Commission had not yet certified the academic institution when he graduated.

Established in 1949 by the family of Dr. Horosi Aguiling, Republican College currently offers bachelor?s degrees in education, commerce, criminology and liberal arts, secretarial courses, and master?s degrees in arts and education, in addition to secondary education. It now has a student population of 600.

Political record

Sometime last month, ?somebody from the Thai Embassy came over to check (Chansaeng?s) school records here,? Lapata said. ?We later sent by DHL copies of the records they requested.?

Chansaeng has been in the political arena for more than 20 years, the Daily Xpress reported. A two-time Bangkok councilor since 1985, he was elected member of parliament four times since 1992. He has served as adviser and assistant secretary for the ministries of interior, finance, transport and agriculture.

He was also a Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party executive in 2002-04 and is currently an executive member of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), said to be the proxy group of the defunct TRT of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada and Inquirer Research in Manila