State colleges, universities get P27 billion budget hike

MANILA, Philippines — Congress has approved a substantial increase of as much as P27.3 billion for state universities and colleges (SUC) for 2024 through unprogrammed funds.

The Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) was granted an allocation of P128.2 billion in the 2024 General Appropriations Act, which is P27.3 billion higher than the originally proposed budget.

Among the beneficiaries of the budgetary increase, according to PASUC president
 Tirso Ronquillo, are the 1.85 million students enrolled in SUCs nationwide, 72,000 faculty and staff and 50,000 job orders and contract of service workers.

“Our sincerest thanks and appreciation for this substantial support,” he said, acknowledging that their respective colleges and universities now have “adequate resources to effectively perform (their) core mandates of instruction, research, community engagement and other public undertakings.”  

The allocation, sourced from “unprogrammed funds,” includes P20.1 billion capital outlay for the “digital transformation” or smart campus system for seven SUCs, P7 billion for payment of Free Higher Education deficiencies in 2022 and 2023, P5.3 billion for the “construction, completion or rehabilitation of classrooms, dormitories” for 40 SUCs.

Also, P692 million under the maintenance operating and other expenses (MOOE) for the establishment and support of 22 SUCs that have a “College of Medicine,” P232 million from the P2 million each across-the-board to all SUCs for “Capacity Development on Futures Thinking and Strategic Foresight;”  

P273 million for the SUCs’ “Tulong Dunong program,” P115 million for the increase in carrying capacity of nursing health programs of three SUCs, P100 million under the miscellaneous personnel benefits fund for the implementation of the reclassification of faculty positions;

P30 million as “financial assistance to athletes and athletic programs” of 16 SUCs, while P102 million is allotted for personnel services, P465 million for yearly MOOE and P43 million for capital outlay.