Senate slashes budget of 21 state universities

The Senate has cut the 2009 budgets of 21 state colleges and universities in the provinces by P323 million.

However, it increased the subsidies for next year of most government-owned tertiary level schools. The increases range from a low of P634,000 to a high of P362 million. A large number of these schools received an additional P1 million.

The University of the Philippines (UP), the country’s premier state university, received the biggest increase of P362 million from the Senate. That raised its 2009 budget to P6.8 billion.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who recommended the reductions and augmentations as Senate finance committee chairman, was UP president during the Marcos years.

UP’s subsidy next year is equivalent to the combined budgets of 47 state colleges and universities from the Ilocos Region, the Cordilleras, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, all the way down to Southern Tagalog and the Bicol Region.

The Eastern Samar State University, located in one of the poorest provinces in the country, received the smallest augmentation - P634,000. That increased its 2009 budget from P144.5 million to P145.2 million.

In the Ilocos provinces, the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University lost P9 million in the senators’ version of the 2009 national budget.

All five state schools in Cagayan Valley suffered collective reductions of P89.5 million. The Batanes State College lost P3 million, Cagayan State University, P9 million; Isabela State University, P30.5 million; Nueva Vizcaya State University, P18 million; and Quirino State College, P29 million.

In Central Luzon, the budgets of Bataan Peninsula State University, Pampanga Agricultural College and Ramon Magsaysay Technological University were cut by P9 million, P2 million and P14 million, respectively.

In the Bicol Region, Bicol University lost P3 million; Camarines Sur State Agricultural College, P29 million; and Partido State University, P19 million.

There’s only one state school in Western Visayas that suffered a cut of P3 million – Capiz State University. Capiz is the home province of Sen. Mar Roxas.

In Central Visayas, the 2009 budgets of Cebu Normal University, Cebu State College of Science and Technology, Negros Oriental State University, and Siquijor State College were slashed by P12 million, P6 million, P9 million, and P23 million, respectively.

In the Leyte-Samar provinces, Samar State University lost P14 million; while in the Zamboanga peninsula, J. H. Cerilles State College lost P19 million.

In the Davao Region, University of Southeastern Philippines was stripped of P44 million and Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology, P4 million.

Mindanao State University in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao lost P21.5 million.

House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora, a member of the House panel in the bicameral conference committee on the budget, told The STAR that there would be a “showdown” between senators and congressmen on the Senate-approved cuts for state schools.

“We have no problem with the suggested augmentations. It is the reductions that will be sticky and contentious. They (senators) cannot expect congressmen in the provinces and districts where the affected schools are located to agree to those cuts,” he said.

“For instance, how can you expect Congressman Tony (Antonio) Cerilles (of Zamboanga del Sur) to support the P19-million reduction for a school named apparently after one of his relatives?” he asked, referring to J. H. Cerilles State College.

In addition to schools, the Senate reduced the subsidies of four specialty hospitals in Quezon City by a total of P347.5 million.

The Philippine Heart Center suffered the biggest cut of P181 million. Senators reduced its budget from P417 million as approved by the House to P236 million.

The National Kidney and Transplant Institute, also known as Kidney Center, lost P117 million, bringing its 2009 funds down to P198.5 million.

Even the specialty hospital for children, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, was deprived of P47.5 million. That reduced its budget to P251 million.

The Lung Center of the Philippines suffered the smallest reduction of P2 million. Its budget was cut to P161.6 million.

Senators slashed various appropriations and realigned the reductions to their pet projects and favorite agencies.