ILOILO City — Funding shortfalls confronting state universities, public schools and teachers have become the centerpiece of a renewed youth campaign in Panay Island, with an Iloilo-based coalition calling for the realignment of the proposed national budget toward education and other basic social services.
Pamatan-on Kontra Korapsyon said State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in Western Visayas are receiving appropriations significantly below their proposed budgets, while the public school system continues to grapple with classroom shortages and constraints on teacher hiring.
The coalition is preparing a Panay-wide mass mobilization on Sept. 21, marking one year since more than 10,000 Ilonggos reportedly joined demonstrations against corruption.
Coalition representative Samantha Faye Herbolario said inadequate government funding has translated into operational difficulties for public educational institutions and reduced support for students.
“Ang tanan nga SUCs sa Western Visayas, naga-suffer sa insufficient budget,” Herbolario said.
The coalition also raised concern over the shortage of classrooms, claiming that the Marcos administration approved funding for only 700 new classrooms nationwide despite the need for thousands more.
“Ang gin-approve subong nga classrooms is 700 lang compared sa linibo tani nga kinahanglanon sang mga estudyante. Amo man ang public school teachers nga nag-announce nga indi na maka-hire sang bag-o nga teachers tungod sa budget cuts,” she stressed.
“Kag ang supporta sa mga estudyante..kulang man tungod sa kulang nga budget. Ini ang manifestation kag epekto sang korapsyon,” Herbolario added.
The group said budget constraints have also affected faculty recruitment, subsidies, maintenance and other basic educational support programs.
BUDGET PRIORITIES QUESTIONED
Pamatan-on Kontra Korapsyon linked the education funding issue to its broader campaign against corruption and questioned government spending priorities, particularly allocations for security agencies and infrastructure projects that it considers flawed.
“Corruption is not an abstract concept; it directly affects our everyday survival,” Herbolario stressed, pointing to what the coalition described as unresolved fund management issues involving Vice President Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“If our streets are flooded because of failed flood control projects, then we will flood the streets with protests this September 21,” she stressed.
Ahead of the mobilization, the coalition will conduct a Regional Education Consultation and Budget Forum at 1 p.m. on Sept. 19 at the Sta. Teresa Prayer Center in Sambag, Jaro, Iloilo City.
The forum will examine education problems across Western Visayas and proposed changes in government funding, according to the group.
The Sept. 21 mobilization will include coordinated provincial walkouts and street marches across Panay calling for greater funding for public education and social services and for government accountability.
“Gina-invite gid namon ang mga pamatan-on sa Iloilo kag bilog nga Panay nga maghulag sa Sept. 21, 2026,” Herbolario said.
“Makita man naton subong, nga indi ini ang priority sang aton nga government. Ang priority nila ang corruption ..mga pasista nga agencies nga nagatapak sang kinamatarong sang mga estudyante naton,” she stressed./PN
