Yes, there’s money

In two previous columns, I wrote about  the Universal Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10932). One was on its authorship by  Sen. Bam Aquino  who described it  as “a revolutionary education reform” (“From the Stands” column dated Aug. 10, 2017). The  other  was on Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto’s declaration that not all students  in state universities and colleges can  enjoy free tuition  forever (From the Stands, Aug. 15, 2017).

Today my column treats the issue differently.  A number of Duterte’s cabinet members  have expressed  concern about where the money to fund RA 10932 will come from. President Duterte has said something like, “Let the boys think about where.” The House appropriations committee chair, Rep. Karlo Nograles is one of those bright boys. He  is quite optimistic that there’s going to be money not only for  the 2018 school year but for  future school years. For school year 2018 alone, the budget is P50 billion for the expected 1.9 million students in June next year.

For a recap, the act provides tuition-free education in 114 state universities and colleges (SUCs), 16 local universities and colleges (LUCs) accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and 122 technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Nograles, Davao City’s 1st district representative, told Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel the money will be coming from the unused funds budgeted for some departments, which will be channeled to the educational institutions mentioned above.

He mentioned three departments that have not used up their funds; these could be the initial source for the 2018 school year. In a separate interview, he said the Department of Information and Communications (DITC) has P2.7 billion of unused appropriations in 2016 and another P2.695 billion in unused appropriations for 2017. These funds he said, will expire on Dec. 31, 2017, and he doubts  if the Department  will be able to utilize them before the year ends. He also said another P5 billion will come from the unused funds of the Department of Agrarian Reform and P30 billion from the Department of Transportation.

Our question is, why did not these departments use up the appropriations for projects they already had in their hands?  Because they have not used them up, they have to return them to the National Treasury.

Nograles and the appropriations committee whose members number more than 100 legislators, will just have to convince the departments  to allow the use of their unused monies to fund the much-awaited  free education of students.

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The UP Law Class of 1957 salutes  two of their classmates – Retired Supreme Court  Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza and  former Secretary and Ambassador Lilia Bautista, who have been awarded by the UP Alumni Association (UPAA) “The Lifetime Distinguished Alumni Achievement” awards. The awards were formally conferred during the UP alumni homecoming.

Justice Mendoza has rendered government service in different capacities – as a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of the Philippines College of Law; as Solicitor and later Assistant Solicitor General in the  Office of the Solicitor General, Department of Justice; Associate Justice and later Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, and finally as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.    

 He finished his bachelor of laws at the UP College of Law, his master of laws at Yale Law School, and was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Law school.

His awards and recognition are as follows: Professor of the Year, UP College of Law (1989); special citation for Contribution to Legal Education, UPAA (Dec. 6, 1966); Doctor of Laws honoris causa, Angeles University, Angeles Foundation (March 21, 2003), and a citation from Bantay Katarungan  for  his Outstanding Judicial Service for 41 years “without any taint or blemish for his masterful craftsmanship relying on his deep knowledge of law and his conscience as guide.” This citation was signed by former Ambassador Sedfrey A. Ordonez and former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga. In  2003, he was given a plaque of appreciation by the Supreme Court for his “qualities of intellectual and moral integrity.”

Justice Mendoza wrote a number of books, particularly on Constitutional Law, which have been extensively used by the legal profession and are found in several volumes of  The Philippine Reports.

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Ambassador Lilia R. Bautista served as ambassador to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva. She was a former Securities and Exchange  Commission  chairperson, acting Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, chair of the Board of Investments,  CITEM,  NDC and other DTI boards as well as an ex-officio member of the monetary board and the Anti-money Laundering Council. She was the first female chair of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization.

In the private sector, she currently serves as a member of the board of directors/trustees of several corporations. 

Bautista has been a recipient of various awards, among them the Presidential Mabini Award, the Papal Award, The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service, FIDA award, Mariang Maya, and  WILOCI Icon. She is currently dean of the Jose Rizal College of Law.

She finished her bachelor of laws from the UP in 1957; her master of laws at the University of Michigan on a Dewitt Fellowship in 1963,  and her  master of business administration at the UP in 1969.

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The Sillimanians in Metro Manila’s celebration  of the 116th founding of Silliman University, held at Heritage Hotel, Pasay City,  put together alumni and spouses living in Luzon for a night of fun and frolic, and remembering their roots. As SIMM president  Ed Dames said, the alumni chapter “aims to be known as more than the biggest chapter but the one with the most number of members who are change agents.” 

The evening’s program was highlighted by the message of Winston A. Maxino, whose life story has been an inspiration to many. That’s because the lawyer – a multi-awarded student at Silliman and the Ateneo de Manila University  and Asian Institute of Management – has overcome difficulties others would not be able to do so. The COO of Green Earth Management Philippines Corp. and Hooven Philippines, as well as  general manager of Online Property Development Corp., he has a very talented daughter with Down Syndrome, and he himself is afflicted with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a degenerative and incurable bone disease. But he is cheerful and an optimist. In 2010, he won a nationwide search for “Happiest Pinoy” by Cebuana Lhuillier.

And very special that evening was the presence of Conrado Calnea Ong III, or Dondi, a celebrated member of The Philippine Tenors (the others being Thad Liamson and Joseph Olfindo) and Jennifer Uy, a very impressive classical singer from Canada. The two rendered numbers from operas as well as popular songs.  Dr. Mark Ferenal, president of Southville International School, also gave his co-Sillimanians a taste of  his singing talent.

Present at the event was Mayor Ipe  Remollo of Dumaguete City.  Communication specialist Dr. Cris Maslog signed copies of his three books, Deconstruct to Understand: Why President Duterte Speaks His Way, Martial Law Jokes Atbp.,  and Grassroots Journalism.

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