Campus

Budget for SUCs up by P5.2-B in 2015

Patricia Lourdes Viray - The Philippine Star

October 3, 2014 | 11:00am

MANILA, Philippines - The 2015 budget for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) had a net increase of P5.2 billion from 2014, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad announced Thursday.

From P38 billion in 2014, the approved budget for SUCs increased to P43.3 billion in 2015.

Abad issued the statement in reaction to allegations that there is a budget cut for SUCs in the proposed 2015 national budget and that the Aquino administration has been neglecting tertiary education since 2010.

A table from the Department of Budget and Management comparing the budget of State Universities and Colleges from 2010 to 2015

“These misleading pronouncements are just a rehash of last year’s concerns on education budget cuts and they’ve already been disproven. The budget of SUCs has been increasing year-on-year, from P23.8 billion in 2010 to P43.3 billion in 2015,” Abad said.

According to Abad, the requests of each school was considered in the national government's Normative Formula which is in line with the Administration's Higher Education Reform Roadmap.

Education is the Aquino Administration's top priority, Abad said. The DBM allotted P364.96 billion for the Department of Education in the proposed 2015 national budget.

“The government’s 2015 National Expenditure Program allocates 37.1 percent of the budget to social protection and welfare services, which includes the provision of basic education. Under this commitment, we are the strengthening our K-12 Program, building new classrooms and schools, and hiring more teachers," Abad said.

Lawmakers headed by Kabataan Party-List Rep. Terry Ridon released a unity statement calling on Malacañang to increase the budget for SUCs for 2015.

“For years, our students and constituents have called for greater state funding for education. Yet, a nominal increase, such as what we see in the 2015 budget, hardly suffices. What our state schools need is a substantial increase – an additional budget that could match their actual funding requirement,” the statement said.

The P43.3 billion budget that DBM approved for 110 SUCs was not enough and is only a third of the institution's original request of P122.7 billion, the lawmakers said.