“Free college education must be fully funded”- Legarda

Despite the suspension of official budget proceedings due to heavy rains, Senator Loren Legarda, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, hosted a dialogue with presidents of state universities and colleges (SUCs) on Friday, 26 September 2025.

Joining her were Senator Win Gatchalian, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and Congressman Leandro Legarda Leviste, Vice Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations. Together, they affirmed their shared commitment to strengthening support for higher education institutions nationwide. Also present was Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Dr. Shirley Agrupis.

The dialogue focused on the ₱12.3 billion cumulative deficiency in Free Higher Education allocations from 2022 to 2025, as flagged by the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC). This gap resulted from the Department of Budget and Management’s use of prior year’s actual enrollment instead of the projected enrollment mandated by the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931).

“A deficiency like this should not stand in the way of our students. Dreams must not be stalled by budget shortfalls. Free Higher Education is not an option, it is the law,” Legarda said. “It must be funded according to projected enrollment, as the law requires. Any failure to do so means leaving students behind, and that is unacceptable.”

Legarda welcomed the House’s commitment to address the deficiency in the 2026 national budget, with ₱7.82 billion proposed to be sourced from the Commission on Higher Education’s Higher Education Development Fund and ₱4.49 billion from other available funding sources.

Looking ahead, Legarda underscored the need to permanently correct the computation in the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to ensure that Free Higher Education is fully funded every year. She pressed for the precise deficiency under the 2026 National Expenditure Program—beyond the ₱12.3 billion already identified for years 2022 to 2025—to be clearly determined and fully addressed in the 2026 GAA. At the same time, she called for greater transparency and accountability in SUC budget use, with stronger safeguards for fund disbursement and streamlined compliance requirements.

For the more than seventy (70) SUC presidents in attendance, the meeting was a vital step in securing the resources needed to strengthen academic programs, upgrade facilities, and expand access to learners across the country. By ensuring that Free Higher Education is properly funded, SUCs can continue not only producing competent graduates and relevant research, but also advancing science and innovation, fostering critical and creative thinking, strengthening technical and vocational capacities, preserving cultural heritage, and serving as engines of local and regional development.

“We cannot turn our backs on students to whom we have promised Free Higher Education,” Legarda said. “That promise must be honored fully and without compromise because there is no greater investment than education to alleviate poverty. Every Filipino child deserves a future shaped by knowledge, not defined by lack of opportunity and resources.”

Even before the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act that Legarda co-authored and co-sponsored, the four-term Senator had already moved to make free tuition for college students possible. As the then Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, she championed proper allocation of government resources to cover tuition fees of students across all SUCs, proving that transformative reform can be achieved through strategic, people-focused budgeting. Legarda later ensured the law’s full implementation in its first year, reflecting her long-standing commitment to making higher education accessible to every Filipino.

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Libreng edukasyon sa kolehiyo, dapat ganap na pondohan – Legarda

Sa kabila ng pagsuspinde ng mga deliberasyon sa pambansang badyet dahil sa malakas na pag-ulan, pinangunahan ni Senadora Loren Legarda, Chairperson ng Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, ang isang dayalogo kasama ang mga pangulo ng state universities and colleges (SUCs) noong Biyernes, ika-26 ng Setyembre 2025.

Kasama ni Legarda sina Senador Sherwin Gatchalian, Chairperson ng Senate Finance Committee, at Congressman Leandro Legarda Leviste, Vice Chair ng House Committee on Appropriations. Sama-sama nilang pinagtibay ang kanilang kolektibong paninindigan na palakasin ang suporta para sa mga institusyong pangmataas na edukasyon sa buong bansa. Dumalo rin si Dr. Shirley Agrupis, Tagapangulo ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Ang dayalogo ay nakatuon sa ₱12.3 bilyong kabuuang kakulangan sa alokasyon para sa Free Higher Education mula taong 2022 hanggang 2025, ayon sa Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC). Ang kakulangan na ito ay resulta ng paggamit ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ng aktuwal na bilang ng mga estudyanteng naka-enroll sa nakaraang taon, sa halip na projected enrollment na itinatakda ng Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931).

“Ang ganitong kakulangan ay hindi dapat maging hadlang sa ating mga estudyante. Hindi dapat mapigil ang mga pangarap dahil sa kakulangan sa badyet. Ang Free Higher Education ay hindi opsyon—ito ay batas,” pahayag ni Legarda. “Dapat itong pondohan batay sa tinatayang bilang ng enrollment, gaya ng itinatakda ng batas. Ang anumang pagkukulang sa pondo ay nangangahulugang may mga estudyanteng maiiwan, at hindi ito katanggap-tanggap.”

Malugod na tinanggap ni Legarda ang pangako ng Kamara na tugunan ang kakulangan sa 2026 National Budget, kung saan ₱7.82 bilyon ang mungkahing kukunin mula sa Higher Education Development Fund ng CHED, at ₱4.49 bilyon mula sa iba pang mapagkukunan ng pondo.

Sa pagtanaw sa hinaharap, binigyang-diin ni Legarda ang pangangailangang itama nang permanente ang paraan ng pagkukuwenta sa 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), upang matiyak na ang Free Higher Education ay ganap na napopondohan taon-taon. Iginiit niyang dapat malinaw na matukoy at matugunan ang eksaktong kakulangan sa ilalim ng 2026 National Expenditure Program—lampas pa sa ₱12.3 bilyon na naitala para sa mga taong 2022 hanggang 2025—at maisama ito nang buo sa 2026 GAA. Kasabay nito, nanawagan siya ng mas mataas na antas ng transparency at accountability.

Para sa mahigit pitumpung (70) pangulo ng mga state universities and colleges (SUCs) na dumalo, ang pagpupulong ay isang mahalagang hakbang upang matiyak ang sapat na pondo para sa pagpapalakas ng mga akademikong programa, pagpapahusay ng mga pasilidad, at pagpapalawak ng akses sa mga mag-aaral sa buong bansa. Sa wastong pagpopondo ng Free Higher Education, magpapatuloy ang mga SUC hindi lamang sa paglikha ng mga bihasang gradwado at makabuluhang pananaliksik, kundi pati sa pagsusulong ng agham at inobasyon, pagpapalalim ng kritikal at malikhaing pag-iisip, pagpapalakas ng teknikal at bokasyonal na kakayahan, pangangalaga sa kulturang pamana, at pagiging tagapagpaunlad ng lokal at rehiyonal na ekonomiya.

“Hindi natin maaaring talikuran ang mga estudyanteng pinangakuan natin ng Free Higher Education.” giit ni Legarda. “Ang pangakong ito ay dapat tuparin nang buo at walang kompromiso, sapagkat walang mas mahalagang pamumuhunan kaysa sa edukasyon upang labanan ang kahirapan. Ang bawat batang Pilipino ay karapat-dapat sa kinabukasang hinubog ng kaalaman—hindi ng kakulangan sa oportunidad at yaman.”

Bago pa man maipasa ang Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act na kanyang co-authored at co-sponsored, isinulong na ni Legarda ang libreng matrikula para sa mga estudyante sa kolehiyo. Bilang dating Tagapangulo ng Senate Committee on Finance, pinangunahan niya ang tamang alokasyon ng pondo ng pamahalaan upang sagutin ang matrikula ng mga estudyante sa lahat ng SUC—patunay na ang makabuluhang reporma ay maaaring maisakatuparan sa pamamagitan ng estratehikong badyet na nakatuon sa tao. Tiniyak din ni Legarda ang ganap na pagpapatupad ng batas sa unang taon nito, bilang patunay ng kanyang matagal nang paninindigan na gawing abot-kamay ang mataas na edukasyon para sa bawat Pilipino. (30)