59 state schools suffer budget cuts

MANILA, Philippines - Fifty-nine state universities and colleges (SUCs) will suffer funding cuts next year, including the University of the Philippines with a P2-billion reduction in capital outlay.

The combined budget for all the 114 state-owned schools of higher learning, however, will increase by P1.5 billion, Rep. Terry Ridon of party-list group Kabataan said yesterday.

“Despite the increase in the total budgets of SUCs, from P42.3 billion this year to the proposed P43.8 billion in 2016, 59 SUCs will incur a net decrease in funding,” he said in the course of a hearing on the education sector’s outlay by the House appropriations committee chaired by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab.

Ridon said that while there is an across-the-board increase in funds for salaries for all SUCs, 59 of them would suffer cuts in allocations for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlay (CO).

The MOOE represents an agency’s budget component for day-to-day operations and utilities, while the CO is provision for new infrastructure.

Ridon said the total MOOE cuts for the 59 state schools would amount to P477.8 million.

Among the heftiest reductions are those for Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, from P32.4 million to P16.6 million; Mindanao State University, from P418.8 million to P274.2 million and Iloilo State College of Fisheries, from P34.2 million in 2015 to P24.1 million

“Western Visayas is the most affected by the MOOE cuts, followed by Eastern Visayas,” Ridon said.

He said in the case of the UP, it is set to suffer a P2.2-billion CO reduction, while Marikina Polytechnic College, Cagayan State University and Bulacan State University “have virtually no CO allocation for 2016.”

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has said UP’s CO fund would go down because most of the university’s building and other infrastructure projects would be completed this year.

Ridon also questioned the huge salaries and allowances SUCs’ officers are getting.

He said the highest-paid SUC official is Emanuel de Guzman, president of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), considered the poor’s man state school.

PUP vice presidents Samuel Salvador and Joseph Mercado received P2.7 million each; while the university’s executive vice president, Manuel Muhi, was paid P2.4 million, he said.

He said the other SUCs’ officers with fat compensation are Philippine Normal University president Ester Ogena, P2.2 million; Cavite State University president Divinia Chavez; P2.19 million; and Jose Rizal Memorial State University president Edgar Balbuena, P2.07 million.

Cavite State University is where Vice President Jejomar Binay delivered his version of the State of the Nation Address, in which he decried the school’s supposed lack of funding.

In contrast, Ridon said UP president Alfredo Pascual received P1.3 million, while Patricia Licuanan, chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which regulates higher education schools, earned P2 million.

“How can these executives justify such large salaries and compensation, many getting even higher than what Dr. Licuanan and CHED commissioners get, despite the fact that SUCs badly need funds for operations?” he asked.

He said the highest grossers are officials of PUP, which is in dire need of additional operating funds.

Fewer college scholarships next year

There will be fewer scholarships next year for poor but deserving students in state universities and colleges, according to the CHED.

Licuanan told the House committee that scholarship funds under the “Tulong Dunong” program would be reduced by P328 million, from P1.314 billion this year to P986 million.

She said the funds would be allocated equitably among all congressional districts, where public officials and even concerned citizens could nominate scholars.

She said the nominations should be submitted to CHED regional offices.

She added that aside from “Tulong Dunong” funds, CHED would have P539 million in 2016 for financial assistance to poor students under its own regular scholarship program.

Ridon said the “Tulong Dunong” is a new hiding place for congressional pork barrel funds.

“CHED started it this year. It sprouted only after the Supreme Court declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund, otherwise known as the congressional pork barrel, unconstitutional. Lawmakers used to finance scholarships with their PDAF allocations,” he said.

“My suspicion is that the Tulong Dunong program just replaced the PDAF under CHED and state universities and colleges. Under this program, CHED may be allowing legislators to tap funds and identify beneficiaries, much like how they used to do under the PDAF regime,” he said.

Responding to questions, Licuanan admitted that lawmakers are allowed to nominate scholars, provided the students “comply with our requirements.”

After the annual P25-billion PDAF was abolished, Ridon said lawmakers diverted P4 billion of the pork barrel funds to CHED, which downloaded P3.8 billion of the money to SUCs.

“Of the P3.8 billion, the Commission on Audit has noted that as of yearend 2013, P3.6 billion remained unaccounted for,” he said.

The proposed CHED budget for 2016 amounts to P10.5 billion, more than three times its P3.402 billion funding this year.

The regulator will get a huge increase in allocations for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), from P3.146 billion this year to nearly P10 billion in 2016.

It will have P286 million for capital outlay (infrastructure and equipment), which it does not have this year.

Licuanan said the bulk of MOOE funds would be used for the K-12 program.