MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is reminding students, universities and colleges to follow applicable guidelines amid allegations of training being done by some varsity teams.

CHED is echoing the reminder of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Games and Amusements Board, and the Department of Health which issued the joint administrative order (JAO) on the conduct of physical activities and sports.

Chairman Prospero de Vera III, who attended a virtual meeting with stakeholders of the other agencies on Wednesday, said that CHED has issued several guidelines since March advising students to stay at home.

These were consistent with the guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force that were also outlined in the JAO.

"Safety of our students is the topmost concern," said De Vera.

De Vera's reminder comes as the University of Santo Tomas (UST) is conducting an internal investigation on an alleged training camp conducted in Sorsogon by its men's basketball team.

UAAP executive director Atty. Rebo Saguisag and UAAP president Nonong Calanog said UST is now finalizing its probe, and the league expects to receive the final report before its meeting on Friday.

The UAAP was also requested to seek clarification from National University (NU), whose women's volleyball team allegedly conducted practices as well despite government-issued restrictions.

The Lady Bulldogs were questioned for potential violations of quarantine protocols as well after pictures of their alleged practices surfaced on social media.

The group expects to have representatives of the two universities join the next meeting set on September 1, where they hope to resolve the matter and take final action.

"The PSC will always push to uphold the issuances regarding sports and physical activity, and we are happy that CHED is a steady partner when it comes to sports in universities and colleges," said PSC national training director Marc Velasco.

GAB chairman Baham Mitra also thanked De Vera, who "gave the group another perspective on these issues."

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website).