Teachers’ group slams P3.34 billion budget cut for SUCs

Out of 116 SUCs nationwide, 49 will suffer direct budget slashes while seven others will receive nominal increases of less than one percent.

Ramon Efren Lazaro

MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) yesterday condemned the P3.34-billion slash in the budget for state universities and colleges or SUCs under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), while P10.8 billion was allocated for confidential and intelligence funds or CIF.

In a statement, ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said that while the SUCs suffer budget cuts, P10.8 billion was allocated for CIFs – with P4.56 billion, or 44.9 percent of the total CIF, for the Office of the President alone.

Out of 116 SUCs nationwide, 49 will suffer direct budget slashes while seven others will receive nominal increases of less than one percent.

“The cutbacks in education are directly depriving the young Filipinos of their rights to education,” Bernardo said.

ACT said the University of the Philippines System bears the single largest budget slash, losing nearly P2.95 billion – a move that would directly cripple funding for the Philippine General Hospital, which is the country’s premier government tertiary medical facility.

Specialized institutions such as the Philippine Normal University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines also face hefty cuts with  P394.9 million and P291.8 million, respectively.

ACT asked lawmakers to immediately reject all proposed budget cuts, and fully restore the P3.34-billion reduction across all 49 affected SUCs.

The teachers’ group noted that the Department of the Interior and Local Government was given a P22-billion budget increase in the NEP, of which P16 billion would go to the Philippine National Police.