President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the bill providing free education for the students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) nationwide.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra announced on Friday during a forum held at Conrad Hotel that the president signed the said bill last Thursday night.
“I am pleased to announce that last night (August 3, 2017), the President signed into law the enrolled bill,” Guevarra said.
“But Duterte’s will to provide free higher education to the public prevailed. Free tertiary education in SUCs is a very strong pillar and cornerstone of the President’s social development policy,” Guevarra said.
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Guevarra clarified that the mandatory provisions of Free Tuition Fee bill on state universities and colleges can be implemented by just spending P16 billion, contradicting to the P100 billion needed budget stated earlier by DBM Secretary Benjamin Diokno.
“So he weighed everything and came to the conclusion that the long-term benefits that will be derived from a well-developed tertiary education on the part of the citizenry will definitely outweigh any short-term budget challenges… If there’s a will, there’s a way,” he added.
However, the re-allocation of resources for the proper funding of the free education will depend on the economic managers of the president.
“The free tuition and other fees pertaining to state universities and colleges, as well as local universities and colleges, will be financed by the local government units. As far as I know, the only mandatory provisions of the bill for now are the free tuition and other fees (library fees, ID fees, laboratory fees, etc.),” he said.
It can be remembered that earlier, Budget Secretary Diokno said the government may not be able to shoulder the cost of granting free tuition in SUCs, which could run to about PHP100 billion annually if the bill will pass into law. | with reports from Sweeden Velado  / Tretch Melarpes – PTV News
