TACLOBAN CITY?Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone has filed a bill seeking to draw funds from the government?s gambling earnings to fund state universities and colleges (SUC).

The bill seeks to automatically allocate at least 10 percent of an estimated P40 billion in annual earnings made by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to SUCs.

There are 10 SUCs in Eastern Visayas with a combined student population of over 40,000.

?If the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. would only give 10 percent of its gross income of P40 billion annually, which means that our SUCs will get an extra P2 billion for themselves every year, as intended by this bill,? said Evardone.

?Imagine how far they would go in their pursuit of excellence and academic development,? said the congressman.

?It?s high time we increase our stake in the human resource development of the younger generation of our people, which can only be done by elevating our educational system to competitive levels here and abroad,? he said.

He said the budget allocated to the country?s SUCs were too small for these to operate and upgrade their facilities.