Duterte signs free tuition law as Congress looks for funding

MANILA: Despite opposition from his economic managers, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law granting tuitionfree education in all state universities and colleges (SUCs), a move hailed by lawmakers who now have the task of looking for ways to fund the measure.

Warnings of a hefty price tag for the Bill did not deter Duterte, who thought its benefits would far outweigh the cost, Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters in Malacaang on Friday.

Guevarra said free tertiary education in SUCs was a very strong cornerstone of the president’s social development policy.

“So he weighed everything and came to the conclusion that the longterm benefits that would be derived from a welldeveloped tertiary education on the part of the citizenry will definitely outweigh any possible shortterm budgetary challenges,” he said.

“So if there’s a will, as we say, there’s a way,” he added. “It’s up to Congress to look for funding for the new law.”

“In my opinion, if the Congress is really serious about finding the appropriate funding for this free tuition programme, they would have to find the necessary sources for this particular programme”, he said.

“It could allocate resources and make other adjustments during the budget deliberations,” he said.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said on Friday that the new law would be implemented next year.

As such, it will entail changes in the proposed US$75bil (RM320bil) budget for 2018.

Diokno said he would head the committee that would prepare the implementation rules for the free tuition law.

During the first congressional hearing on the 2018 budget on Tuesday, Duterte’s economic managers said 100 billion pesos (RM8.5bil) would be needed to fully subsidise tuition in the SUCs.

To fund that, the administration has asked lawmakers to pass new revenue measures. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network