Lawmaker seeks twice the budget for education

‘HISTORIC SHOW OF RAGE’. UP students march to Don Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge in Manila to protest the budget cuts of state universities and colleges. Other Metro schools involved are Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology and Philippine Normal University. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

A youth party-list House member has filed an amendment to the 2012 national budget that would double the allocation for state universities and colleges by realigning the funds allocated to defense and the controversial conditional cash transfer program.

Kabataan party-list Representative Raymond Palatino on Tuesday filed with the appropriations committee the proposal—drafted by the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (Pasuc)—to amend the budget for public tertiary schools, almost doubling the allocation to P45 billion, against the government’s proposed P26.1 billion.

The Department of Budget and Management has said that the proposed P26.1 billion allocation for state universities and colleges was already 10.1 percent more than this year’s  P23.7 billion.

Youth and student groups protesting the allegedly reduced education budget claim, however, that the 2012 allocation remained at P21.8 billion.

Thousands of public university students staged a mass walkout nationwide last week to protest the budget cuts in education, denouncing the government’s alleged underspending in basic education and higher education.

“The Aquino government should put its money where its mouth is and stop making excuses. It should act now to fund quality education and sufficient social services,” said the Anakbayan militant youth group.

In its proposal, Pasuc asked schools to rechannel funds allotted for defense and the CCT program: P789.3 million programmed for the Department of National Defense, P5 billion for Armed Forces modernization, and CCT funds of P2.5 billion.

Militant youths also sought the realignment of P2.5 billion supposedly allocated for personnel benefits at the Commission on Higher Education.