DBM reveals more details about the increase of U.P.'s budget in 2013 from 2012

Department of Budget and Management Secretary (DBM) Florencio B. Abad said  that the University of the Philippines (UP) is set to receive a P3.9-billion increase in their budget, raising their total 2013 allocation to P10.0 billion. Under the 2013 budget for all UP campuses, capital outlay (CO )support rose from P190 million in 2012 to P1.45 billion, while the allocation for Personal Services (PS) was pegged at P6.5 billion, up by P1.2 billion from this year. PS does not include unfilled positions.

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) activities under UP will receive a 188.2-percent boost amounting to P2 billion, which will cover research and other related activities for the university’s nationwide campuses. The remaining amount will be devoted to retirement and life insurance premium support for faculty and staff.

The Diliman Diary asked the DBM through DBM’s Citizen’s portal at http://www.budgetngbayan.com, a question on how State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) budgets would be increased and received the following response:

“The proposed budget for SUCs in 2013 is P37.1B, that is a 44% increase from last year's P25.8B, or an increase of P11.3B, of which, P27.3B is for Personal Services, 20.6% increase from 2012. Another P6.4B is for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses, 114% increase from last year. Finally, P3.36B is for Capital Outlay, increasing by more than 16 times from 2012.”

Additional information from the DBM website at http://www.dbm.gov.ph shows that
the Administration’s campaign is to boost public tertiary education across the country.

According to Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad, the budget hike for SUCs is designed to strengthen SUC performance and improve student welfare through better infrastructure, in line with the Aquino administration’s higher education roadmap.

“In preparing the SUC budget for 2013, we were instructed by President Aquino to concretize the roadmap for higher education as part of this Administration’s reform agenda. This way, the delivery of higher education will be more efficient and accessible. Following the roadmap will also allow SUCs to develop their students’ capabilities so they’re well-prepared to join the work force,” Abad said.

Of the proposed P37.1 billion, P27.3 billion will support Personal Services, which went up by 20.6 percent for the implementation of the fourth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law III to raise the salaries of SUC teachers and staff. The amount includes allocations for unfilled positions of SUCs.

Another P6.4 billion of the 2013 budget for SUCs will cover Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), 114 percent higher than the previous year’s MOOE budget. The increase will help bolster institutional improvements, research initiatives, extension services, and the quality of instruction across all SUCs.

“Improvements in teaching quality and the establishment of quality assurance systems in SUCs are attainable not just through better compensation for our teachers. To support these initiatives, MOOE will also receive normative funding. Fund support will therefore be based on a set criteria to bolster our rationalization efforts in SUCs, so that more programs and courses respond directly to growing industry demands,” Abad added.

The rationalization of SUCs entail the mapping out of leading universities in all regions, centers of excellence, as well as centers of development. Besides developing high-level professional disciplines or courses demanded by the market, the rationalization plan will also align college academic programs according to SUCs’ leading regional industries.

Meanwhile, P3.36 billion of the total budget will be used for Capital Outlay (CO) to support the infrastructure needs of state-supported colleges and universities, bringing up the total CO budget for 2013 by more than sixteen times.

“The Aquino administration recognizes the severe need for capital outlay support in SUCs, which will receive their CO allocations directly. This will jumpstart developments in infrastructure and enable SUCs to acquire laboratory equipment and other necessary facilities to boost their competitiveness and academic capacities,” Abad said.

The proposed budget ot the national government, including SUCs was submitted by President Benigno S. Aquino III to the House of Representatives for its deliberation.

President Aquino to submit increased budget for SUCs to Congress tomorrow

President Benigno S. Aquino III said today in his annual State of the Nation Address (SONA) that he would be submitting to Congress tomorrow the annual budget for the national government which also includes a 43.61% increase for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

He said that the he is proposing to Congress to approve SUCs a 43.61 percent increase in the budgets of SUCs for 2013. He said that as a reminder though, that everything was in accordance with a plan: There are corresponding conditions to this budget increase.

He said that the SUC Reform Roadmap of CHED, which has been deliberated and agreed upon, must be enacted to ensure that the students sponsored by the state are of top caliber. "Expect that if you work to get high marks in this assignment, we will be striving just as hard to address the rest of your needs," he said.

Here is the full text of President Aquino's 3rd SONA (2012) in Filipino and English.

Other reforms are expected to be operational and fiscal in nature. For example, the Diliman Diary has been following the progress of the University of the Philippines System in realigning the operations of University-affiliated foundations with Commission on Audit requests for more access to its financial and other data. CHED working with COA and the Department of Management will be working even more closely with U.P. and other SUCs in the future to ensure that these reforms are implemented to the greatest extent possible.

P2.006-T PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS ON TUESDAY


President Bis set to submit the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) for fiscal year 2013 to Congress on Tuesday, 24 July 2012: a day after his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) today.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad, who will be delivering the expenditure plan to Congress on behalf of the President, said that this P2.006-trillion proposed National Budget deepens the Aquino Administration’s commitment to its Social Contract with the Filipino People.

“This proposed Empowerment Budget prioritizes funding for programs and projects that have impact in unshackling the poor from poverty and in reducing poverty incidence to 16.6 percent by 2016. President Aquino has directed us to take bold steps in closing key social service delivery gaps—in classrooms, teachers, health insurance subsidies, rural health facilities, etc.—by 2013,” he said.

“He also instructed us to build on our economic achievements so far, such as the 6.4-percent gross domestic product growth in the first quarter of 2012, by investing in the foundations of rapid, inclusive and sustained growth. With this, we are funding the attainment of rice self-sufficiency by next year; the pavement of all national roads by 2014 and all secondary roads by 2016, the arrival of 5.53 million tourists by next year and 10 million by 2016, among others,” he said.

Abad pointed out that the combined budgetary allocations of the Social Services and Economic Services sector of P1.210 trillion for 2013—60.3 percent of the P2.006-trillion Budget—supports the achievement of the aforementioned targets (Annex A).

The proposed 2013 National Budget consists of P1.251 trillion in Programmed New Appropriations for national government operations, programs and projects; and P755.2 billion in Automatic Appropriations for debt servicing, local government allocations and others (Annex B).

Legislative action and approval will be sought for Programmed New Appropriations as well as for P177.5 billion in Unprogrammed Appropriations, or standby spending authority which the national government may only be utilized when its revenues exceed targets.

The Budget Chief also said that the Proposed Budget for 2013 is the earliest to be submitted to Congress in the last twelve years (Annex C). He said that by submitting the BESF right after the SONA, the Administration is showing its commitment to ensure the early enactment of the Budget.

“Last year, the Administration and Congress worked together to ensure that the 2012 Budget becomes law by 15 December 2011: the earliest Budget enactment since the restoration of our democracy. We look forward to repeating that historical feat,” Abad said.

In the last twelve years, the Proposed Budget for 2001 was submitted on 24 June 2000, as early as the 2013 proposal’s submission, but it was not enacted. Before the Aquino administration, the last Budget to be enacted on time was the 1999 Budget, signed into law on 30 December 1998.

College Editors Guild of the Philippines to launch "Strike Lead"

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

MEDIA ADVISORY

STRIKE LEAD

Official newsdesk for the youth strike against the education budget cut

This is the season of strikes.

This month, students in several state universities and colleges will go on strike as a form of protest against the grossly insufficient allocation not only for education but also for other social services. As build up for the strikes, different sectors of the society will conduct an array of activities in various areas across the country.

As members of the press, it is important that we report on the campaign against the cutbacks on basic services because it is an issue of constitutional rights – right to education, right to affordable and prompt health services, among others.

For press releases, media advisories, schedule of activities, analysis, factsheets and backgrounders, you may contact Strike Lead, the information desk of the youth strike. Strike Lead was organized by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, the widest and longest-running alliance of student publications in the country.

We are also accepting reports, media advisories and other notices from organizations that engage in the fight for quality and accessible basic services. If you want to be part of Strike Lead, you can volunteer as a correspondent/photographer/artist for the desk. For inquiries, contact Gidget Estella, CEGP national deputy secretary general, at 0915.335.2021.

To all the people (family, classmates, teachers and friends) who want me to stop joining rallies, give me the chance to explain.

By Kristian Jacob Abad Lora

Ako'y minsa'y naiiyak kapag may naririnig akong mga batikos sa mga kilos-protesta. Kamakailan lang ay may narinig akong batikos mula sa ilang Iskolar ng UP Cebu. Hindi ko rin naman sila masisisi dahil nagkulang din naman akong ipaintindi sa kanila kung bakit may mga kilos-protesta. Kung kaya't sa pagpapalabas kong ito ng aking mga hinaing, ipapaliwanag ko rin kung bakit may mga pagkikilos gaya ng rally.

Kadalasang batikos ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan sa mga kilos-protesta'y ang mga ito'y nakakasira raw ng imahe ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Sa totoo lang, sira na ang imahe ng Unibersidad - may mga nagsasabing mayayabang raw yung mga Isko at Iska, sosyal, walang pakialam, walang puso sa mga mahihirap. At ako'y nagnanais na mabalik ang dating imahe ng Unibersidad - bilang Unibersidad ng Bayan at Para sa Bayan na tunay na naglilingkod, tumutulong at lumalaban para sa masang Pilipino.

Sa tingin niyo gustung-gusto ko ang palagiang rally? Sa tingin niyo gustung-gusto ko ang magpabilad sa ilalim ng araw? Napapagod din ako minsan. Sa totoo lang, pwede ko rin namang piliin ang mamuhay nang matiwasay at magpakasarili, mag-aral buong araw at magsindi ng mga kandila sa bawat pagtatapos ng semestre. Subalit di ko matitiis ang manahimik lang habang nagkakagulo sa lipunang aking kinagagalawan. Hindi ko matitiis ang maghintay ng ilan pang taon para makagradweyt habang nakikita kong may mga inaapi't pinapatay na mahihirap, may mga mahihirap na kabataang di nakakapag-aral lalung-lalo na sa kolehiyo, at habang nakikita kong nasisira ang ating kalikasan dahil sa pagpayag ng ating gubyerno na magmina, mag-operate ng coal-fired power plants at mag-oil exploration ang mga dayuhan.

Tayo po ay nagmamakasarili - we only care about our image, our job, our future. Pero huwag po nating kalimutan, pagkatapos nating mag-aral, sa lipunang ito pa rin ang ating bagsak. Makakaranas tayo ng panggigipit at pang-aapi mula sa kompanyang ating pagtatrabahuan hanggang sa gubyerno. Sa madaling sabi, tayo rin lang ang maaapektuhan sa ating pananahimik sa gitna ng mga pagkikilos sa panahon ng ating pag-aaral.

Alam kong minamaliit natin ang kapangyarihan ng mga sama-samang pagkilos gaya ng rally. Huwag nating kalimutan na sa ating massive WALKOUT, rallies at strikes from November to December last year ay nadagdagan ang badyet ng SUC's kahit di gaano malaki ang halaga. Huwag nating kalimutan na ang ating sama-samang pagkilos noong Pebrero ng nakaraaang taon ang siyang dahilan kung bakit hanggang ngayon ay buhay pa ang UP Cebu High School at may mga underprivileged na kabataan ang nakakatamasa ng de-kalidad na edukasyon ng UP Cebu High School.Huwag sana nating kalimutan na sa sama-samang pagkilos ng mga Pilipino mula sa rebolusyon nina Bonifacio hanggang sa EDSA I Movement ng 1986 ay natamo ang kalayaang ini-enjoy natin ngayon. Lahat ng mga ito ay hindi natamo sa pamamagitan lang ng mga diplomatikong pamamaraan (hal: pag-aapela, pagpapadala ng sulat sa gubyerno, sa Admin, etc.)

Sana'y maiintindihan niyo kung bakit may mga kilos-protesta. Hangga't may mga inhustisya at hanggang sa nagbibingi-bingian ang gubyerno sa hinaing ng taumbayan, di mawawala ang mga kilos-protesta. At hanggang sa aking makakaya'y lalahok ako sa mga kilos-protesta kahit ikamamatay ko man ito. Titiyakin kong bago ako mawala sa mundong ito ay may naiambag ako sa lipunang kumupkop sa akin habang ako'y pansamantalang namuhay sa mundong ito. Titiyakin ko na hindi lang ako naging Iskolar ng Bayan kundi ako rin ay naging Iskolar para sa Bayan at para sa Kinabukasan. SERVE THE PEOPLE! Padayon! GOD BLESS!

Academic Excellence and The Costs of Universal Public Education

By Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo

That thousands upon thousands of students and academic workers flooded the streets to oppose the 2011 reform budget of the Aquino regime is nothing short of historical. And in making history, we always go back to the wager that has always united laboring people everywhere—the wager for life as opposed to the fatal logic of neoliberalism. When we took to the streets, we were up against the wall that bars us from a movement forward to where basic rights are enjoyed by all, an alternative to our current mode of living that reduces people to bare life or one that subjects us to the most violent forms of death.

We’ve been told that the struggle has waned, and that the youth sector is no longer a force to reckon with. But the series of protest actions and strikes led by student activists attest to the veritable strength of the youth against policies that threaten to reinforce the privatization of education to make it ever more flexible to the demands of the market, as opposed to the necessity of universal public education. United with academic workers, the students proved that collective action is the most effective means by which concrete gains are accomplished. The great November 25 UP-Diliman Strike and the subsequent mobilizations are now sources of inspiration and strength for other sectors in society who clamor for genuine change through organized and collective action. While the additional funding for the education budget announced on December 1 when students trooped to the senate is clearly not adequate, it is enough proof that we did not fight in vain.

The attempt to reinforce the false binaries between student activism and academic excellence weaves into technocratic thinking that fragments knowledge; compartmentalizing modes of learning that are otherwise part of a holistic education. There is a truism in the claim that education extends beyond classrooms. In everyday life, students learn their lessons in malls, the internet, television, and other media—spaces where the lesson of individualism is taught so well and reigns supreme.

So when the youth decisively walk out of their classes to strike at the state’s abandonment of education, when student activists mobilize their fellow students to act upon matters of social and political importance, these are expressions of how much they value education and their future. These sacrifices, like the ones before that made history, can never be reduced to reckless disregard for good grades, nor do they deserve tirades from those who insist upon fallacies that can only divide solidarity, much like the tactics of bureaucrats that deny the reality of budget cuts. Most of all, these sacrifices cannot compare to the hardships undergone by the majority of the youth who, on account of privatization of social services, do not even have access to higher education.

The unjust exclusion of those who cannot pay for education is the goal of privatization, and the budget cut to education is one of the means. This is why the costs of universal public education are high, and they fiercely defy commodification. We persist in the fight for greater state subsidy to education that concretely translates to our struggle against budget cuts because education is not for sale, we are not for sale!

It is only by struggle that the youth of today have recaptured their concrete identity. Their struggle defines them: the empowered youth is the youth that dares to struggle, the same youth that dares to win.

(University of the Philippines Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo is a Professor from the College of Social Work and Community Development, U.P. Diliman. This article is uploaded with her permission).

Announcement: Office of the U.P. Student Regent: Dec 7 March to Philcoa to protest SUCs 2011 budget cuts to Congressional committee

Office of the Student Regent, University of the Philippines 

ALERT! UP students, especially those from UP Diliman: Today, Dec 7 at 10am, the Congress shall convene Bi-cameral Conference to approve the 2011 national budget at Philippine Coconut Authority Building (PHILCOA) near DAR. Calling on all students to join the march to Philcoa to further our call for greater state subsidy for UP and SUCs! No to SUC budget cuts!

Statement of Mr. Terry Ridon: Advance our initial victory! Persist in the struggle against the budget cut!

KILOS NA LABAN SA BUDGET CUT
December 4, 2010

We, the youth together with other sectors, have achieved an initial yet significant victory through our firm solidarity and collective action against the budget cuts to our State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

On December 1, 2010, our massive national strike against the SUC budget cuts has forced the Senate to amend the 2011 national budget by allocating a P146-M increase for the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of our SUCs. This was made possible by the thousands of youth, teachers, administrators, and staff who intensely engaged the Aquino government with vibrant education protests.

As an attempt to break our growing and dynamic unity, the Aquino government and its cohorts have spun the lie that no actual SUC budget cut exists. But we have sharply countered such manic lie with critical thinking and passionate assertion. We have thus exposed the deceit of the Aquino government and its brazen plan to abandon the SUCs to utter destitution.

We have ascertained that Aquino’s “reform budget,” in truth, is no different from, if not worse than, the budget of the rotten Arroyo regime. For both, the same holds true: budget cuts to education and other social services amid billions of pesos given to congressional pork barrel, military defense spending, conditional cash dole-outs, and foreign debt servicing.

By itself, the P146-M additional budget is insufficient in substantially addressing the urgent concerns of the SUCs – deteriorating conditions, lack of facilities and equipment, low salaries, inadequate benefits and contractualization policies for the faculty and staff, and the imminence of tuition and other fee increase. Such additional budget in fact will only amount to P1.3-M if divided among all 112 SUCs. On the other hand, the budget for Capital Outlay (CO) remains close to zero.

Hence, the fight for our right to education is certainly not yet over. We must not succumb to complacency on account of our initial victory. Recently, the Aquino government has reiterated its State policy that support for SUCs will be gradually decreased. Department of Budget and Management (DBM) head Butch Abad, on the other hand, foretells the reduction in the number of the SUCs. These call for utmost vigilance and militancy.

In the immediate is the Bicameral Conference Committee (BCC) meeting of the Senate and the Congress which is set to finalize the 2011 national budget. The Bicameral meeting is yet another opening for us students, teachers, administrators and staff to assert the removal of the budget cuts to the SUCs.

Our allies in the Senate and the Congress shall do their best to press their colleagues to stand in defense of our right to education by completely removing the cuts in the MOOE and CO of the SUCs.

More crucial, however, is that we arouse, organize and mobilize with greater fervor and broader unity in preparation for the Bicameral meeting. We have already proven something grand and historic - that genuine change is possible if we are united, if we are resolute and if we are militant in fighting for our rights and for our future.

So we shall continue the fight. And we shall be thousands upon thousands more as we advance to greater victories.

Kabataan Partylist: Education strikes push Senate to increase SUCs budget

After weeks of continuous education strikes, the Senate amended the national budget for 2011 last December 1, 2010 to include a P146-M increase in the budget of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). The amount will go to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of SUCs which was originally subjected to a P1.1-B cut. Senator Allan Peter Cayetano, who joined thousands of protesters in the Senate yesterday, proposed the budget amendment.

According to Rep. Mong Palatino of Kabataan Party-list, “we have demonstrated that the strength of the youth and people’s solidarity can make things happen. The 146 million peso increase in the MOOE of SUCs is a product of our collective action.”

Palatino lauded the Senate for the amendment, “as opposed to the Congress which railroaded the so-called ‘reform’ budget that is filled with disconcerting provisions.”

On the other hand, Palatino scored the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for its statement that there was no SUCs budget cut.

“The claims discrediting the SUCs budget cuts cannot but appear as a ploy to dupe the students and the people. Verily, It did not succeed to douse our spirit of solidarity,” Palatino said.

In a recent statement, DBM head Butch Abad said that only the ‘viable’ SUCs should receive support from the government.

Palatino said that the plan to reduce the number of SUCs “bespeaks the real modus operandi of supposed ‘educators’ who aim to limit the access of the people to quality education.”

“The other day, DBM was refuting the SUC budget cuts. Now, not only does it admit to the crime, as it were, it also foretells the plan to reduce the number of SUCs. That’s a mouthful, from budget cut to ‘SUCs cut,’” he said.

Palatino said that while the P146-M increase is a “welcome development, the amount is still grossly insufficient in addressing the needs of the SUCs.”

“To roughly calculate, each of the 112 SUCs will only get an additional P1.3-M for their MOOE. On the other hand, the budget for Capital Outlay remains close to nil. We have to do something about this,” he said.

Palatino said that “the fight for education is definitely not over. The youth and the people will uprate the fight in the coming days until total victory is achieved.”

The bicameral budget deliberation is set to take place on December 6, 2010.

(Source: http://kabataanpartylist.com/blog/education-strikes-push-senate-to-increase-sucs-budget/)

Kiko Pangilinan Welcomes the Appointment of New U.P. President

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan welcomes the appointment of international banker and finance expert Alfredo Pascual as the University of the Philippines' new president, adding Pascual's background in the business sector will serve the state university well in addressing its financial problems.

"Pascual himself promised to address the financial needs of UP in lught of the budget cuts for 2011. I have expressed my reservations on this matter, and having a financial expert as UP president will certainly help matters."

Pangilinan earlier said that state universities and colleges are the only means by which certain sectors can get affordable, quality education, and that slashing their budget would deprive the youth a chance to fulfill their dreams of getting a diploma and becoming productive members of society. Pangilinan allocated 100 million pesos for SUCs in 2009, and 40 million pesos in 2010.

Pangilinan is the principal author of the bill that created the UP charter, which sought to strengthen the university's fiscal position by allowing it to exercise its initiative and enterprise. He is also a former chair of the UP student council, and sat as student representative on the UP board of regents.

"Education is an extremely important pillar of the country's goal of becoming a developed nation. With Pascual and his extensive economic background, there is a chance that the financial woes of UP will be addressed and remedied."

(Source: http://senate.gov.ph/press_release/2010/1204_pangilinan2.asp)

Rising Challenges at the Forked Roads of our University's History (Office of the Student Regent statement on Student strike and UP President Selection)

OFFICE OF THE STUDENT REGENT
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SYSTEM 
Vinzons Hall Basement, UP Diliman
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

RISING CHALLENGES AT THE FORKED ROADS OF OUR UNIVERSITY’S HISTORY

The UP Office of the Student Regent (OSR) salutes and congratulates the thousands of students, faculty, and staff of the University of the Philippines who participated in the recent mobilizations against the impending budget cuts for State Colleges and Universities (SUCs).

We have once again proved the strength of our collective action. We have built the broadest unity among our administrators, faculty, and staff across all UP campuses and have been persistent in our campaigns. We have marched in solidarity with other SUCs in our fight for greater state subsidy.

As a result, the youth have moved the Senate into considering the increased budget for SUCs. On Dec 1, the Senate restored P146 million for SUC budget. While we see this as a victory of the youth’s collective struggle, we recognize that the amendment still falls short of the P1.1 billion that the SUCs demand for their maintainance and other operating expenditures (MOOE). Simply put, our struggle does not end here.

The state continues to reduce subsidy to SUCs to push them to become self-sufficient, thus, obliging them to increase tuition and other fees and resort to income-generating projects. At this rate, we are challenged to sustain our militant actions and further consolidate our ranks to defend the rights and interests of the students and other sectors in the University.

Our struggle highlighted the importance of a leadership that is one with us and serves our interests and aspirations. Hence, this day also proves to be an important point in our University’s history as we have selected our next University President. We have chosen a leader whose set of policies will affect the fate of this University in the next six years.

The OSR, through consultation with various UP units, sees that there are three general concerns of students across all campuses which were taken into consideration in the selection of the next UP President: (1) the issue of democratic access in the University, (2) the democratic participation of students in University affairs, and (3) the university participation in important national and international affairs.

DEMOCRATIC ACCESS 

For the past years, the President failed to see the potential of our collective action in asserting for greater state subsidy and instead, the University has effortlessly kow-towed to the state’s policy of pushing state universities to impose higher tuition, and increase and institutionalize laboratory fees, rental fees, and miscellaneous fees as an alternative source of budget. Students have vehemently expressed their dissent on this policy as the burden of paying for their education has been passed to them, leading the youth to a narrowing opportunity to accessible quality education. The University most definitely needs a President that is committed in preserving the public character of UP, making it accessible to the Filipino people.

We call on the Iskolar ng Bayan to maintain its vigilance to the commitments of our President-select Alfred Pascual in maintaining the accesibility of UP education:

1. consistent campaign alongside the various sectors to call for greater state subsidy for UP and education;
2. moratorium on undergraduate tuition increase for 6 years;
3. full sectoral involvement and transparency in land lease projects and other income-generating projects;
4. comprehensive and extensive consultation with students on ALL fee increase/institutionalization proposals;
5. review and reverse unjustified laboratory fees being collected from the students;
6. transparency on the collection and disbursement of all collected fees, including the tuition increment;
7. review and rationalization of exorbitant and rental fees (e.g. ‘saksak’ fees, etc); and
8. review of the large lecture class policy in UPLB.

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE 

The next UP president should respect democratic processes in UP and should ensure the broadest participation among its sectors in decision-making processes, at all levels of administration. The Iskolars ng Bayan will never forget the railroading of the tuition fee hike in 2006, where it was approved without the presence of the faculty and student regent. The president should also ensure transparency and accountability in all financial transactions that this University would enter. Moreover, he or she should respect the process of Faculty, Staff and Student Regent Selection and shall not intervene in any way to affect the results of such democratic processes.

Among the President-select Pascual’s commitments in ensuring democratic governance are:

1. review the process of approval of the 2010 Student Code of Conduct and ensure student representation in the committee;
2. probe the military presence in various UP campuses, implement existing agreements with DND and DILG as regards military presence in the University without prejudice to a possible re-negotiation;
3. oppose mandatory ROTC in the University;
4. institutionalize student representation in policy-making and decision-making bodies and committees which affect student rights and welfare;
5. protection of student leaders from political harassment, trumped up cases, including the review of cases filed against UPLB student leaders;
6. monitor and ensure the status of UP Cebu High; and
7. strengthen the flagship courses of each campus.

NATIONAL ISSUES 

UP has been known as a social critic. It has produced mass leaders who have played a role in the ouster of the fascist President Marcos and even Estrada. For years now, it has been leading the campaign against budget cut and it has exposed this as a systematic policy of the government to abandon its duties on tertiary education. While the incumbent UP President had been vocal and was one with us in our fight for greater state subsidy in her early years as president, the UP President remained silent after the historic tuition fee increase was adopted by the Board of Regents. The president of the UP System, as the highest ranking official of the University, should actively engage in national issues and shall play its role of defending the rights of the taxpayers that funds it.

The OSR has high hopes that unlike the current UP administration, the next UP President will open its doors to the interests of the students. While the nominees for the president selection have their own meritorious credentials, the OSR rendered its principled vote according to the aforesaid criteria and commitments. However, we must recognize that choosing the right president is not the solution to the issues that confront the students. We must continue to become vigilant, actively challenging and engaging the next UP President to respond to our democratic rights and interest.

Time and again we have proven that only through our collective action we can achieve victories. But it is only in our relentless will to defend our rights that we can advance our struggle to achieve greater victories. This University will only take any of the two roads: a road to further commercialization and privatization, and a road upholding its public character and commitment to accessible quality education. The real fate of this University rests upon us.

STOP THE P1.39 B BUDGET CUT IN UP!
FIGHT FOR GREATER STATE SUBSIDY!
UPHOLD DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE UNIVERSITY!
DEFEND THE PUBLIC CHARACTER OF UP!
UPHOLD THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES AS A UNIVERSITY SERVING THE PEOPLE!


(Editor's note: The University of the Philippines Student Regent is Ms. Jaqueline Eroles)

Diliman Video of the Week: Fil-Ams Weigh in in Song (i.e., in Rap) vs. Budget cuts against R.P. State Universities and Colleges

Office of the President of the Philippines gives clarifications on Budget Cuts to SUCs

On Demand for Larger Budgets for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs)

2010-11-30

1. How much is the proposed budget for SUCs? Is there a budget cut?

The proposed SUCs budget for 2011 is P23.4 billion, which is P2.4 billion higher than the P21.0 billion National Expenditure Program (NEP) in 2010; but lower by P438 million than the allocation of P23.85 billion under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2010.

However, P2.8 billion of the GAA allocation for SUCs (details in the latter portions) are considered Congressional Initiatives (CIs) which are subjected to a conditional veto in the 2010 GAA by the previous President. The conditional veto says that CIs can only be released subject to new revenue measures passed by Congress.

2. What made the difference in the SUC budget for next year compared to the budget for this year?

There is a higher allocation for Personal Services (PS) by P2.5 billion to support the requirements for the Salary Standardization Law 3.

Meanwhile, when compared with the 2010 GAA, Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) and CO (Capital Outlay) decreased by P1.1 B and P1.8 B, respectively.

The difference is explained by the CIs for SUCs in 2010 amounting to P1.0 B for MOOE and P1.8 B for CO. As a general rule in preparing the 2011 budget, these CIs were not considered since the bulk were vetoed, having been sourced from realignments from interest payments.

3. What is the DBM’s position on clamor to increase SUC budget?

In a memo for the President, Secretary Butch Abad recommend that we maintain the SUCs budget for 2011 at P23.4 billion due to the following reasons:

a. First, SUCs have a total of P19.1 billion in cash balances as of the end of 2009, that the SUCs could and should use.

The average SUC had P65.8 million in cash balances, equal to 41.3 percent of their expenditures. The largest, P11.9 billion, belonged to the University of the Philippines , the smallest P191,046.78 (absolute figure), to Mountain Province State Polytechnic College .

To note, SUCs are authorized to retain and utilize their income. The Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997 (RA 8292) had enabled the governing boards of chartered state universities and colleges to retain and disburse any income generated by the university or college from tuition fees and other charges.

The SUC Boards are authorized to fix the tuition fees and other necessary school charges and at the same time adopt and implement a socialized scheme of tuition and school fees for greater access to poor but deserving students.

b. On a more fundamental level, the utilization of public funds for tertiary education is highly regressive, and with the scarcity of funds, others more pressing needs that will benefit—such as basic education which benefits more poor students—had to be priorities.

According to the latest Philippine Public Expenditure Review (PER) by the World Bank (WB), the distribution of public school enrollment becomes increasingly skewed in favor of richer households as the level of education rises.

According to the study, while around 48.6 percent of public elementary school pupils come from the three poorest deciles, the comparative figure falls to 35.3 percent for secondary school and significantly dropped to only 17.3 percent in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Hence, the data shows that while the distribution of public school enrollment is progressive at the elementary level, it is less so at the secondary level and becomes regressive at the tertiary level.

4. Aside from direct state subsidy, are there any other funding that the SUCs could avail of from the government?

Aside from the direct appropriations from the national government, SUCs can avail from the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) which CHED uses to support projects which are intended to promote centers of excellence in both public and private sectors. Some P750.8 million was provided to CHED under the HEDF for 2011.

An analysis of the HEDF as of August 31, 2010 indicates that out of the total amount of P11.11 billion remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury under Fund 151 since its creation, only P8.99 billion was programmed and released by the DBM, leaving a balance of P2.12 billion. Moreover, CHED also reported that out of the total HEDF released as financial assistance, only P1.98 billion went to the various SUCs while the balance amounting to P7.0 billion was used to assist private higher educational institutions.

Given the foregoing findings, the DBM is in discussions with CHED on the possibility of having the allocation of HEDF geared more towards the SUCs since it is a government fund.

Prepared by: Department of Budget and Management

(Source: Office of the President of the Philippines)

Senator Kiko Pangilinan laments State Universities and Colleges Budget Cuts

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan expresses his reservations on the P1.1 billion budget cut for the operations of 97 state universities and colleges nationwide, plus the zero allotment for capital outlay for SUCs and the slashed funds for scholarships within the Commission on Higher Education.

"For most of our countrymen, state universities and colleges are their only hope of getting affordable, quality education. Slashing their budget will deprive our youth a chance to fulfill their dreams of getting a diploma and becoming productive members of society."

Pangilinan allocated 100 million pesos for SUCs in 2009, and 40 million pesos in 2010. "I am a product of a great educational system of an SUC," he says. "I was chairman of the student council at UP, so I am aware of and can certainly sympathize with the issues confronting students of SUCs that will be affected by these budget cuts."

The University of the Philippines, arguably the country's premiere state university, will see its budget slashed by P1.39 billion in 2011 from its budget in 2010--thus making it one of the universities around the country that is set to suffer the biggest budget cuts next year.

"Education is an extremely important pillar of the country's goal of reaching first world status. We should not deprive the future of our nation their basic right to have quality education. Let us not be hesitant to invest in our country's future."

(Source: http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2010/1130_pangilinan1.asp)

Privilege Speech of Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino on the clamor for higher funding for tertiary education

By Rep. Raymond Palatino

KABATAAN PARTYLIST on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 6:20pm

November 30, 2010

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, a pleasant afternoon.

I rise today to talk about the just demand of our public universities for a higher share in our national budget. I will also discuss the problems plaguing our country's education system and why the government needs to rethink its education policies.

Today we are commemorating the birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, one of the country’s national heroes and without doubt the most popular working-class icon in our history.

The best way to honor the memory of Bonifacio is to continue his revolutionary dreams. And today, while it is truly depressing that the conditions of the poor during Bonifacio’s time and our time have not significantly improved, it is also worthy to mention that Bonifacio’s militancy continues to inspire countless Filipinos, many of them young. And like Bonifacio, today's young idealists rely on the collective wisdom and power of the oppressed to build a better and more humane and progressive society.

I wish to cite the campus strikes initiated by students in our public universities as a good example of how our youth are reliving the legacy left behind by Bonifacio. We are all familiar with the issue of the decreasing subsidies allocated by the national government to our state universities. I do not wish to repeat the arguments already raised when we tackled the national budget during the committee and plenary deliberations. But I wish to thank our colleagues, those who supported and signed the manifesto urging the government to increase the budget for education.

The reason why students continue to protest is to convince the senate, which is expected to pass the General Appropriations Act bill this week, to make significant amendments in the budget; in particular, restore the slashed MOOE funding of state universities and provide some Capital Outlay to deserving schools. This appeal, I think, is very relevant, doable, and reasonable.

But tomorrow’s campus protests will be different. For the first time in Philippine history, students, teachers, school personnel and university officials will hold a united stand in their respective campuses nationwide. Political bickering inside schools will be set aside for the meantime so that the public higher education sector will speak as one voice tomorrow. There will be various symbolic activities to be staged at lunch time: some will hold prayer rallies, others will conduct campus strikes, student rallyists will troop to the senate. It is hoped that our senators will listen to the collective sentiments of our education stakeholders. It is also hoped that Malacanang will change its hardline position on the issue and begin to review the negative impact of the current higher education policy of the government.

I want to emphasize the last point I made because it is a fundamental issue from the perspective of students. Our students are protesting not merely to beg for a few crumbs from the state; they want President Noynoy Aquino to reject the policy of reducing the role of government in providing higher education services to our youth. They want the president to draft a new higher education roadmap. An education program that does not subscribe to the misguided doctrine that higher education should not be shouldered by the state.

If only Malacanang will review some of the global news stories this year, it will be able to discern that Filipino student protesters are not alone in their demand for greater state subsidy for higher education. For the past few months, we have witnessed massive student protests that swept across the globe. In Ireland, up to 40,000 people flooded the streets to halt a possible increase in registration fees for university students. Tens of thousands of student activists in Ukraine, meanwhile, picketed in front of the Ministry of Education to demand, among others, the scrapping of unjust student fees and to make basic student services accessible to all. Widespread mass actions erupted in London, with hundreds of thousands of students marching steadily into the headquarters of the Liberal Democrats to oppose rising tuition rates and the government's cutting of higher education budgets.

In other places such as Nepal, Indonesia, New Orleans, California, Argentina, Ottawa and New Jersey, students boycotted classes, barricaded classrooms, occupied universities and disrupted classes for weeks, undaunted and unrelenting in their fight for higher state subsidy for education and the scrapping of detrimental and lopsided education policies.

In all these countries, one common slogan was sprayed on buildings and was written on the placards: “Education is not for sale. We are not for sale.” This message, Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, best captures the unified and principled stand of students worldwide against how their governments have been treating education—a private good, a commodity, an adjunct of corporate business.

Indeed, the string of massive student protests that erupted during the past few months were only a logical response to the aggravating education crisis brought about by the disarray in the current global economic order. Economies that once seemed unscathed are now experiencing economic recessions. In order to curb their impending decline, countries intensify their privatization, deregulation and liberalization schemes—the three essential components of the current dominant economic framework notoriously known as neoliberalism.

And neoliberal globalization, Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, is the real culprit behind the problems that our education sector is facing today.

Spending on higher education has been treated as more of a burden than a responsibility the government has to fulfill. As a result, state universities and colleges were forced to fit in the neoliberal framework and generate their own income. To sustain their operations, SUCs either enter into business ventures or increase tuition, thereby transforming education into a commodity.

The student protests that occurred during the past few weeks, thus, were meant not only to put forward the demands of their sector but to call for the dismantling of the prevailing neoliberal policies that neglect the people's basic rights.

Instead of viewing the ongoing campus strikes as a nuisance, Malacanang should regard it as an act of desperation on the part of our state universities. Because of the reigning neoliberal ideology, state universities are now considered endangered species. And the protests reflect the struggle of our public schools to remain relevant.

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, today we commemorate the birth anniversary of Bonifacio, a very important historical figure. Tomorrow, December 1, we could witness the unfolding of another historic moment – that of students, teachers, and school officials linking arms, marching together, speaking as one, reminding the government about its duty to provide decent education to all. My dear colleagues, let us join the education community as they create history.

Lexiphilia: My thoughts on the U.P. System-wide Strike

"When I entered UP, my paranoid father made two requests:

1. To carry around my keychain-sized pepper spray wherever I go

2. Never participate in a rally or become a hardcore student activist

Of course, he asked these things of me purely out of concern and fear that I -his only child, who attended a sheltered private school all her life; would get hurt..or hurt myself. He also asked that I avoid cutting my classes unless there’s a really good reason behind doing so. He did that in order to instill in me the value of my education..and, true to my word, I’ve said no to countless frivolous cuts and always urge others not to cut their classes, as well."

Read the rest here: Lexiphilia: My thoughts on the U.P. System-wide Strike  

Raul Pangalangan: A plea for public funding for SUCs - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

"WE MUST see state universities not as burdens upon the public coffers but rather as investments in the nation’s future. While the Aquino administration has increased the overall budget allocation for education to 3 percent of GDP, higher than that of the Arroyo administration, state universities and colleges will suffer draconian cuts in their budget—for the University of the Philippines alone, a cut of some P1.39 billion or 20 percent of its budget. There is still time to rectify and revise this, and I address this plea to the Senate and eventually the bicameral conference of the two houses of Congress. We should also find ways, if at all possible, to make poor but deserving students qualify for the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, or parallel programs that can empower poor students to take charge of their lives."

Read the rest here:
A plea for public funding for SUCs - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Announcement: "UP Faculty and Staff Regents Stand by our students and students of other state universities and colleges."

  
We stand by our students and students of other state universities and colleges in their assertion that education is a right and in their resolve to advance the struggle for such right to higher levels of militancy and assertion

Statement of the UP Faculty and Staff Regents

November 9, 2010

The passage last night by the House of Representatives of the 2011 Budget without discussions of amendments proposed by the House leadership smacks of railroading by the majority. Reports have confirmed that the budget cut for the University of the Philippines and other state universities and colleges remain in the approved budget. 

The passage of the “Reform Budget,” essentially supports the position taken by President Aquino that the P1.39 Billion budget cut for the University of the Philippines (UP) for the year 2011 is just a “small” amount.

We strongly disagree that the P1.39 billion is a small amount! This massive reduction, amounting to around a fifth or twenty percent of UP’s previous budget, is anything but small. In fact, such an abrupt and indiscriminately large budget cut imperils the very capacity of the University to function as a significant government institution on the same level as it has managed to, even in the previous cash-strapped decades.

President Aquino defends this budget cut mainly by asserting that other State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) desperately need the money more than UP. But if he is as seriously concerned with the condition of the “underfunded” SUCs as he would like us to believe, why then is there also a budget reduction of the total funds allotted for all SUCs by P437 million? If some SUCs are more in need of funds than others, why wasn't there just a reallocation of the same or higher amount for the SUCs in need? The reason for this is that this administration, in common with the catastrophic administration of Macapagal-Arroyo, intends to reduce State support for SUCs as a whole, and not just for UP. Aside from UP, among the worst affected will be the Philippine Normal University (PNU) which faces a budget cut of almost a quarter or 23.59 percent from last year. By means of these drastic cuts, Aquino wants to force UP and other SUCs to earn their keep by transforming themselves into income-generating educational enterprises. In other words, his plan is for the SUCs to shift from the business of education to pursuing education as a business.

The current administration blatantly ignores Article XIV, Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution which guarantees without equivocation that, "The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all." The newly-minted UP Charter (Republic Act 9500) likewise states in no uncertain terms that, "Any plan to generate revenues and other sources from land grants and other real properties entrusted to the national university shall be consistent with the academic mission and orientation of the national university as well as protect it from undue influence and control of commercial interest." Furthermore, it emphasizes that the "funds generated from such programs, projects or mechanism shall not be meant to replace, in part or in whole, the annual appropriations provided by the national government to the national university."

By making SUCs compete against each other and pitting basic education against tertiary level institutions, the current administration threatens to decapitate the system of public education and unflinchingly violates the very first section on education in the fundamental law of the land. Aquino’s insistence that UP ought to further transform itself into an efficient commercial entity and wring more profits from students by raising tuition fees contradicts the previously cited provision of the UP Charter. The "solution" which Pres. Aquino proposes will not end the worsening problems of quality and access in tertiary public education but institutionalizes and makes it permanent in the form of commercialization and privatization of the SUCs. The end result of this will simply be to make tertiary education all but inaccessible to the more numerous and less privileged strata of Philippine society. It is a fact, that the social cost of the continuing neglect of tertiary level education in the Philippines is already evident in the increasingly exclusive nature of tertiary education even in public tertiary level institutions.

Pres. Aquino’s folksy metaphor to the effect that, "those who can swim [like UP] can be expected to reach the shore. Those who may yet drown [the other SUCs] should be thrown life savers," is simply inappropriate. In the first place, many SUCs are drowning, not due to any of their own intrinsic shortcomings as educational institutions, but mainly due to decades of incredible government apathy. The same hand which intentionally pushed these struggling institutions into the water, now proposes to throw some life-vests to a selected few. The majority of the SUCs may eventually succumb to the waves, but not without taking to the bottomless bottom of government neglect all the hopes of poor Filipino students of ever obtaining college degrees.

How can Pres. Aquino claim to offer change with one hand while hollowing out the nation’s educational institutions, the fundamental source of any nation’s progress, with the other? Even as the “Reform Budget” undermines all reform, all the frenzied rhetoric of change turns out to lead to just more of the same.

We strongly protest the P1.39 billion cut in the 2011 budget for UP and the budget cut in the allocation of other state universities and colleges. We stand by our students and the students of other state universities and colleges in their assertion that education is a right and in their resolve to advance the struggle for such right “to higher levels of militancy and assertion”.


UP Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo
UP Staff Regent Clodualdo “Buboy” Cabrera

 (Photos courtesy  of Facebook page of Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo)

Update on “BREAKING NEWS: COA Releases 2009 Audit Report on the University of the Philippines System”: The sub-article: “1. On the issue of conflicts of interest among ranking university officials and university-affiliated foundations” has been completed.

Editor's note: The sub-article: “1. On the issue of conflicts of interest among ranking university officials and university-affiliated foundations” has been completed.

This sub-article is a component of the larger news story, “BREAKING NEWS: COA Releases 2009 Audit Report on the University of the Philippines System”

The sub-article reads in part:

“As there was no information given with regard to the officers of the UP Foundation, Inc., available data gathered disclosed that in its amended by-laws, the President of the UP System is the Chairman and President of the U.P. Foundations, Inc. In addition, the Chancellors of its four autonomous units and three members of the Board of Regents sit on the Board of Trustees. Likewise, per inquiry, its current executive director is a professor of the University” (emphasis supplied by Diliman Diary).

"It appears that the creation of these Foundations is tainted with legal infirmity as an apparent conflict of interest existed considering that some of its officers are at the same time officials of the University, thus, transactions and dealings entered into by these public officers channeled through the Foundations are within the ambit of the public’s right to be informed as mandated by the Constitution consistent with the policy on transparency in government affairs."

To read the entire sub-article, please click on this link: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/11/breaking-news-coa-releases-2009-audit_05.html 

Coming next on: “BREAKING NEWS: COA Releases 2009 Audit Report on the University of the Philippines System” is the next sub-article:

“2. On the basis of a complaint filed by the All U.P. Workers Union, COA cast doubts on the legality and validity of the 25-year lease contract entered into by and between the UP, through U.P. Manila-PGH, and the Mercado General Hospital, Inc. (MGHI), for the conversion and development of the Philippine General Hospital Dispensary historical three-storey concrete building into the Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB).”

This subsequent sub-article, which is still being finalized, may be accessed at the same link: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/11/breaking-news-coa-releases-2009-audit_05.html 

We apologize to our readers for the lag in completing the entire article. The Diliman Diary reportage on the 2009 COA report is arduous and is being completed stage-by-stage, in view of the sheer complexity of the document. Additionally, the Diliman Diary is an all-volunteer effort, with all the limitations being placed on such an enterprise. In this regard, we will soon be be formulating guidelines for accepting volunteers and disseminating them here.

The Diliman Diary also in the process of completing the remaining sub-articles of another major article, enitled, “State Universities and Colleges are Haunted by COA's 2009 Audits into their Financial Expenditures (A Series of Articles co-located on one (1) continuously updated link).” This article may be accessed at this link: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/11/state-universities-and-colleges-are.html

It is our intention in these articles to cut through the mass of information and detail contained in the COA reports and to make them easily digestible to the general public and policy makers for the sole purpose of rectifying possible errors within our system of government. This forms part of our blogger's advocacy which is to press for good government within the scope of the community we cover (that is, initially, the Diliman area). Thank you all very much.

Rep. Roilo Golez, interpellation, CHED budget, Congressional Appropriations Committee, 27 Sept. 2010 Videos 1 and 2

Video 1



Video 2