Additional funding vowed for 42 state schools whose maintenance funds were cut in budget

The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations headed by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab has vowed to provide funding to 42 state universities and colleges (SUCs) which face funding cuts in their Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) next year.

“In the analysis of the SUCs budget by the small committee, we found out that only 42 of the 59 SUCs

suffered cuts in their regular MOOE because of the normative funding formula. The rest of the cuts were from the Tulong Dunong program,” Congressman Ungab said in an interview.

“The small committee is inclined to restore the cuts for regular MOOE. As for the Tulong Dunong, most of the amounts are still not used and are still valid next year. Please also note that there is still a budget under CHED (Commission on Higher Education) for downloading to the various SUCs for Tulong Dunong,” he added.

Last Oct. 14, Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, accompanied by student leaders from SUCs, filed a set of amendments to the proposed 2016 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to increase the budget of 59 SUCs. He said that 59 of the 114 state universities and colleges (SUCs) face funding cuts in their maintenance and other operating expenses, while 40 SUCs have reductions in their capital outlay (CO) allocations.

He said the cuts in the MOOE of the 59 state schools amount to P477.8 million.

Last Oct. 9, the House of Representatives, voting 230-20, approved the P3.002-trillion Appropriations Act, House Bill 6132, on third and final reading, “subject to such amendments as may be approved by the small committee” led by Ungab.

Ridon proposed that the P3.4-billion budget for the Compensation and Separation Benefits of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU) be rechanneled to increase the budget of 59 SUCs.

“The CAFGU funds were being used to violate the human rights violations of Lumads, to perpetuate extra-judicial kilings in various parts of our country, especially in Mindanao,” he said, adding that at least 27 legislators are behind his proposed amendments.

The Makabayan lawmaker said tht President Aquino said in his message last year on the 2015 national budget had directed the military to gradually reduce funding for CAFGUs.

“With the President expressly providing that ‘no new CAFGUs shall be recruited for training and the costs attendant to the training of existing CAFGUs shall be gradually scaled down,’ there can be no justification for the CAFGU budget’s increase to P3.4 billion in 2016,” Ridon said. “Instead, the House Committee on Appropriations should rechannel the aforementioned portion of said funds to the MOOE of SUCs.”

In his 17-page letter to Ungab, Ridon also sought an additional P4.1 billion capital outlay budget for 27 SUCs, including the University of the Philippines, for the construction of student dormitories, faculty housing, and school buildings, especially in state schools located in remote areas.

The item “Budgetary Support to Government Corporations – Others” should be scrapped, he said, arguing that it is “vague and only repeats the function of the line item “Budgetary Support to Government Corporations.” This item should go instead to the capital outlay of the SUCs, he said.

Ridon also filed an amendment to the provisions governing the Bottomup Budgeting Program (BUP) to “strengthen congressional oversight,” and another amendment to provisions on “project modification” to ensure that agencies will not be able to simply adjust details of GAA-approved projects without the knowledge of the Legislature.

“This is to ensure that the budget won’t be used as a Liberal Party’s campaign war chest,” Ridon said. “We maintain that the BUP is merely used in 2016 elections to gain political patronage and support. The public funds should be used for education and health,” he said.

He said some local government executives will be supporting presidential bid of Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas because they got BUP projects, which are being implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Ridon also called for the deletion of the special provision in the budget of SUCs that authorizes school administrators to tap students for construction work. “There is no need for us to include such provision in the national budget. Congress should let schools practice academic freedom and let them prepare appropriate practicum programs for students,” he said.

“Admittedly, there is a slim chance for all of our proposed amendments to hurdle past the House Committee on Appropriations. But we need to exhaust all means to ensure that public funds go to where they are most needed, and that loopholes in the provisions that allow pork to proliferate are sealed tight,” Ridon declared.

He expressed hope that his proposed amendments in the national budget will be considered by the Senate and the bicameral conference panel, as he warned that the non-inclusion of his amendments would lead to protests from students leaders.