THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Thursday denounced a proposed P3.34 billion cut to the budget of state universities and colleges under the 2027 National Expenditure Program and urged lawmakers to redirect discretionary and security funds to education.
The group lamented that while the education sector suffers budget cuts, the Marcos administration has set aside P10.8 billion for confidential and intelligence funds (CIF), with P4.56 billion allotted for the Office of the President alone. This is 44.9 percent of the total CIF in next year’s NEP.
“The government is killing our public universities and colleges while boasting about so-called free education,” ACT Rep. Ruby Bernardo said in Filipino in a statement. Forty-nine of the country’s 116 SUCs would face direct budget cuts, while seven others would receive increases of less than 1 percent.
The University of the Philippines (UP) System bears the single largest budget slash, losing nearly P2.95 billion, a move that directly cripples funding for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).
Specialized institutions also face severe cuts, including the Philippine Normal University with a P394.9-million (25.26 percent) cut and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) with a P291.8-million cut.
Regional state colleges and universities also suffer devastating budget cuts, such as Mariano Marcos State University (-P506.3 million), Isabela State University (-P229.3 million), Biliran Province State University (-P210.9 million), and Leyte Normal University (-P160.4 million).
“Cutting back on education spending directly deprives Filipino youth of their right to an education,” Bernardo said.
“It constitutes a failure to fulfill the obligation to provide teachers and staff with decent wages and adequate benefits; ensure the regularization of contractual employees; fund humane promotion processes; and address shortages — particularly regarding teachers and facilities — in colleges and universities,” she added.
Bernardo lamented how the education sector’s funding is being reduced while discretionary funds for the OP are up as well as those for the government’s anti-insurgency programs and state security forces.
“While education funding is being slashed, Malacañang, the DND (Department of National Defense), and the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) are awash in billions in confidential and intelligence funds intended for militarization and repression,” Bernardo said.
“The country’s problem is not a lack of funds but misplaced priorities. Public funds should go toward social services, not into the pockets of politicians or into funding the oppression of the people,” she added.
ACT is pressing lawmakers to immediately reject all proposed budget cuts, fully restore the P3.34-billion reduction across all 49 affected SUCs, junk all confidential funds, defund militaristic and discretionary programs, and reallocate public funds to higher education and basic social services.
On the same day, President Marcos announced the expansion of the country’s free higher education program, which now benefits 2.62 million students.
The president reiterated the government’s commitment to the full and effective implementation of Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA).
The UAQTEA makes college and technical training free in the Philippines, removing tuition and other school fees in public schools and giving financial aid to poor students.
The president said the government has launched the Bagong Pilipinas merit scholarship program for outstanding senior high school graduates pursuing priority degree programs.
Marcos made the remark in his speech during the 58th Commencement Exercises of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), during which the university conferred him with the highest honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa.
“Access to education must mean more than entering a university. It must mean providing the students, regardless of circumstance, with the support needed to complete their education and realize the promise that a college degree can bring,” the president said.
