Binay camp: SUCs left to fend for themselves

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER file photo

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay accused Malacañang on Wednesday of neglecting the plight of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

In a statement, Office of the Vice President Media Affairs head Joey Salgado said that what Binay said on his counter-Sona about the plight of SUCs still holds true today.

“The budget increases cited by the Palace are nominal increases as against real hike in budgets. SUCs still have to fend for themselves and become self-reliant.  Also, the SUC budget increase for personnel salary in 2012 is not due to the generosity of the Administration but in compliance with the Salary Standardization Law where salary increases were given in four equal tranches starting in 2009 up to 2012,” Salgado said.

Binay’s camp said that through the Roadmap for Public Higher Education Reform (RPHER), SUCs are pushed to “generate more income and lessen their reliance on government funding.”

“Using this framework, what SUCs propose, the national government cuts. Ito ang True State of Higher Public Education: bahala kayo sa buhay ninyo,” he said.

In his contra-Sona, Binay said that instead of earmarking additional funds for state universities, more state tertiary education institutions saw their budgets slashed under the Aquino administration.

Citing data from 2014, Binay said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) only allocated P809 million instead of P59 billion for SUCs.

“Ang ating state colleges and universities, gaya ng Cavite State University na nasa top 20 ng mga tinapyasan ng budget, para bang nakalimutan na sa prayoridad. Sa halip na bigyan ng sapat na pondo, lalo pa itong binawasan,” he said before an audience of students and supporters at Cavite State University last Monday.

This claim was disputed by Malacañang saying that budget for SUCs enjoyed a steady rise under the Aquino administration

“This is the report from DBM: the total budget for SUCs in 2010 was P23.8-billion; became P28-billion in 2011; P26.4-[billion] in 2012; P37.1-billion in 2013; P40.5-billion in 2014; and P47.7-billion in 2015,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing on Tuesday.