MANILA – A lawmaker on Wednesday sought a higher budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs) amid fresh cuts for the government's proposed spending plan next year, saying this would enable these institutions to provide quality education to students.

Some P14 billion budget for SUCs will be slashed based on next year’s National Expenditure Program.

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro said some programs or infrastructures that would be affected by the budget cuts include the following: 

- Development of medical schools 

- Tulong Dunong program  

- Universal access to quality tertiary education or tertiary education subsidy 

- Legal education regulation program  

- General management and supervision  

- Various projects

Aside from these, budget cuts in state universities and colleges, Castro said, can lead these institutions to accept lesser enrollees and scholars.  

“Kung hindi natin paunlarin, hindi natin bigyan ng sapat na budget ang mga SUC, na mas based sa kanilang pangangailangan, 'yung serbisyong pang-edukasyon sa ating mga kabataan, sa tertiary level ay hindi ito magagampanan,” she said.

But Rep. Janette Garin, the budget sponsor for the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), told Castro that funds have been augmented for SUCs last year during the bicameral conference.

“There is no actual budgetary cut. However, there were programs… and infrastructure programs that will actually start and be finished in a certain particular year. In this case, the projects finished by 2024 cannot be funded by 2025 anymore,” said Garin.

“In other words, 'yung sinasabing natapyasan ang pondo ng CHEd… ay hindi aktwal na nabawasan dahil 'yung pondo na ‘yun ay nanggaling sa mga ahensya na hindi na nangangailangan ng pondo at ginawang augmentation,” she added.

Garin noted that lawmakers have yet to identify what agencies would be able to augment funds to SUCs while the budget deliberation is ongoing. 

Confidential funds that are no longer needed can be funneled instead into scholarships, she said. 

“Once it is done, kagaya ng mga pondong confidential funds na hindi kailangan o mga opisina na hindi naman kalawak ang gagawin, ‘yun ang pwedeng idagdag bilang (funds) for scholarships,” according to Garin.

She emphasized that the budget cuts may not happen.

“We have heard of ISIP, a new program which is a convergence of DSWD and CHEd. This has identified a lot of scholars all over the country… That is not yet reflected in the current proposed NEP of 2025 but that will be reflected in the GAA of 2025,” she said.

 “In other words, hindi natapyasan at hindi siya tatapyasan. Dadagdagan pa at the appropriate time,” she added.