MANILA, Philippines ? United Opposition spokesperson Adel Tamano Thursday urged the government to spend more on education, saying it was an ?investment that will reap dividends for the country?s future.?

The 37-year-old lawyer, who was formally installed Thursday as the youngest president of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), pointed out that the government budget for education was measly compared with other countries.

?We have a shortage of 43,000 classrooms. We spend in the Philippines only about $650 per student while in Thailand they spend about three times that much. In Malaysia they spend a hundred times more per child than we do in the Philippines,? said the first Filipino Muslim to head a major university in Manila.

Guests

Tamano?s investiture was attended by opposition stalwarts like Senate President Manuel Villar, Sen. Mar Roxas, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Noynoy Aquino, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Nene Pimentel, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito.

Former President Joseph Estrada earlier confirmed his attendance but apparently extended his stay in Hong Kong at the last minute.

The government, said the opposition spokesperson, spent millions more on debt service instead of prioritizing education as Constitutionally mandated.

Tamano said that as an educator for 10 years, he was concerned about the dismal state of public schools and the poor performance of students against their foreign counterparts.

In heading the tuition-free PLM, which he described as the ?little university that could,? Tamano said he wanted the local government-run facility to be known as an ?honor school? that could be at par with the state-run University of the Philippines.

The Philippine Regulatory Commission, he said, ranked the PLM in terms of board passers as third in nursing, second in accountancy, and second in architecture.

?When I was first appointed at PLM, people asked me ?what?s that?? It?s about time we get the reputation and character the university deserves. For me it?s having the best students and giving them the best education. The best and the brightest but poor come here,? he said.

Among the projects Tamano undertook since assuming the post in August last year was the computerization of the university through 30 free Internet stations and wireless fidelity facilities for students and teachers.

The PLM, added Tamano, will also undergo a thorough refurbishing of its existing facilities like the repair of the school gymnasium, the creation of a faculty lounge, and even a health and wellness center.

Tamano earned his bachelor?s and law degrees at the Ateneo de Manila University, and was the first Filipino Muslim student on a Harvard Law scholarship. He obtained a master?s degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines.