42 SUCs get P145 M in additional funds

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives is giving 42 state universities and colleges additional operating funds for next year.

“We are allocating about P145 million in additional funds for the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of these state schools,” Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, appropriations committee chairman, said Tuesday.

The allocation will restore MOOE funding for the 42 SUCs to its 2015 level.

“We recognize the need of state colleges and universities for more operating funds, and we are addressing it to the extent that the budget allows us,” Ungab said.

Rep. Terry Ridon of party-list group Kabataan, who supported the SUCs’ request for the restoration of their MOOE allocations, lauded the decision of the Ungab committee.

“This is a welcome development. We thank Chairman Ungab for listening to the demands of our SUCs and students,” Ridon said.

In his study of the proposed P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016, Ridon said there were 59 SUCs that suffered MOOE reductions. Ungab said that the MOOE allocations of 17 SUCs were reduced due to the removal of funds for the Tulong Dunong program.

Tulong Dunong gives scholarships to poor but bright students, but it has been transferred to the Commission on Higher Education.

Among the SUCs that suffered the biggest MOOE cuts were 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; Iloilo State College of Fisheries, from P34.2 million in 2015 to P24.1 million.

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

Total subsidy for the 113 SUCs will increase from P44.397 billion this year to P46.014 next year, or by more than P1.6 billion.

SUCs are allowed to use their income from tuition and other fees.

The CHED will have a budget of P10.533 billion for next year, up by more than P7 billion from this year’s P3.402 billion.

The Department of Education has the biggest budget among state agencies.