Yahoo! President Duterte signs free tuition fee for all SUCs
Good news to all students of State Colleges and Universities (SUC)
President Rodrigo Duterte finally signed the Free tuition for state universities and colleges (SUCs) bill which didn’t signed by former President Benigno Aquino III.
Despite of the warnings of his economic managers that the free tuition fee act cannot be afforded by the government, President Rodrigo Duterte insisted that it’s already time to give free college education to all SUCs student.
The measure would require the government to spend P100 billion, based on estimates by the Budget department.
But senators believed that free education to all state universities and colleges student is a good investment.
In a statement on Wednesday, Senator JV Ejercito said that he can’t imagine that the government can spend P70-B a year for Conditional Cash Transfer, but cannot afford to give P28-B a year for free education.
“If the government can spend P70 billion a year for Conditional Cash Transfer, which is a dole out, why can’t we spend P28 billion for higher education? I would rather invest for higher education since this is the best way out of poverty and not through dole outs,” Ejercito said.
Senators Gatchalian and Escudero also urged the government to support the bill.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary menardo Guevarra said the new law was signed by the President last Thursday night after a through review of the situation.
The decision was reached despite budgetary constraints earlier raised by the Department of Budget and Management.
“Free tertiary education in state universities and colleges is a strong pillar of the president’s social development policy,” Guevarra said.
“The long term benefits that will be derived from the tertiary education on the part of the citizenry will definitely outweigh any short term budgetary challenges. he said.
‘If there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said.
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