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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act into law.
The new law will provide free college tuition to students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs).
“(President Duterte) weighed everything and came to the conclusion that the long-term benefits from a well-developed tertiary education on the part of the citizenry will definitely outweigh any short-term budgetary challenges,” said Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
The Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act will be financed through reallocation of resources, official development assistance and donations from local and international sectors.
Senators welcomed the signing.
“I wish to thank the President for signing the free college tuition law. Congratulations to my fellow lawmakers and everyone who supported this policy,” said Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, principal sponsor and co-author of the Senate version of the law.
The Senate will work to allocate the needed $25 billion to fully implement the law, he said.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, also one of the principal authors of the Act, said he was “very very happy” for the poor but deserving SUC students.
“This is an investment to further equip our most precious resource – the human resource,” said Ejercito.
Sen. Nancy Binay, for her part, thanked Duterte for “the gift of free tertiary education for our youth.”
The Senate will work “hand-in-hand” with the Department of Budget and Management to ensure that necessary funds will be allocated for this law every year, said Binay.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said the passage of the law was an “important milestone in ensuring that we provide sufficient support developing our human capital.”
Human capital is the “greatest asset” and should be the government’s “biggest investment,” he stressed.
“We want to take all available steps to ensure education for everyone. At the same time, we should listen to those who raised concerns about this measure and ensure that these are addressed,” added Villanueva.
Sen. Loren Legarda, chairwoman of the Senate finance committee, vowed that the law would be funded under the 2018 budget. She asked the Commission on Higher Education to fully and immediately implement the law.
“This law addresses the concerns of poor families who have no means to bring their children to college. I am glad that we have already institutionalized what we advocated for in the 2017 budget,” said Legarda.
Aside from tuition fees, the government will shoulder miscellaneous and all other mandatory fees under the law.
Scholarship grants will also be made available to students of both public and private college and universities./PN
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