The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Monday said the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, or Republic Act (RA) 10931, which President Duterte signed last week, will be crafted starting Wednesday this week.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the DBM will meet with the agencies implementing the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) Act, the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), the President of the University of the Philippines (UP), the appropriations committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate finance committee.
This developed as Rep. Joey S. Salceda of the Second District of Albay, principal author of the bill, said RA 10931 will usher in the “next wave social revolution in building a more egalitarian society”.
RA 10931’s landmark components include 1) free higher education in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs); 2) free technical-vocational education in post-secondary technical-vocational institutions under Tesda; 3) tertiary education subsidy (TES) for Filipino students; and 4) student loan program (SLP) for tertiary education
The breakthrough legislation is estimated to cost the government P10.486 billion in tuition and P6 billion in miscellaneous expense for 984,000 students in SUCs in 2018. In the state-run Bicol University in Albay’s Second District, which Salceda represents, some 28,000 students stand to benefit from the measure with a subsidy of about P340 million per year.
“We will meet on Wednesday, with UniFAST, CHED, Tesda, UP president, the members of appropriations committee [of the] House, and members of the Senate finance committee, [at] UP. We will meet to formulate the IRR,” Diokno told reporters at the sidelines of the Senate finance committee hearing on the budget-reform bill on Monday.
Diokno added that the final budget amount for the implementation of the program will be discussed on Wednesday. Last week the President signed into law RA 10931, which aims to provide free tuition and other miscellaneous fees in tertiary education for students enrolled in SUCs in the Philippines.
He said funding for the program will either be sourced from within the budget or requested through supplemental budget, since the 2017 appropriations have already been approved.
“Well, you know the budget, as approved by the President, cannot be increased by Congress, so we will look for money from within the budget and if that is sufficient, then we wouldn’t need supplemental budget. If it’s not sufficient, then we will ask for supplemental budget. Remember, this will be for implementation on the first semester of 2018 because the 2017 requirements are already covered,” Diokno said.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has pointed out that the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) will be discussing the IRR headed by Diokno.
“He [Diokno] will prepare the IRR for that. I think that will be in the DBCC, and since he is the chairman of the DBCC [so] we will sit down with him on that,” Dominguez told finance reporters.
Salceda said the new law drew much of its provisions from the Albay model on Universal Access to College Education program he pioneered when he was governor for nine years. The program, which had helped some 88,888 students in completing their studies, also served as “inclusive tool and key to Albay’s poverty reduction from 41 percent in 2007 to 17.1 percent in 2015.”
Students in community colleges may have to wait awhile, however, since only 16 out of 111 LUCs are presently accredited by the Ched. The government subsidy for LUC students is estimated at P113 million. Salceda said the program also provides for some P1.3 billion in student loans for those who belong to the lowest 30 percent who may need additional financial resources in pursuing their college studies.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for launching the second-generation social revolution in erecting a pillar of a more egalitarian society,” Salceda said following the announcement of the President’s approval of the measure.
Contrary to misperceptions, the new law has built-in mechanisms that would encourage increased participation in the program from all socioeconomic classes, especially the poor. Salceda said Republic Act (RA) 10931, would now give poor students the drive to strive further for self-development through free tertiary and technical-vocational education, the high costs of which had previously demoralized and forced them to settle for low-paying jobs to survive.
Salceda added RA 10931, aside from its mechanisms that provide all Filipinos equal opportunities to quality education in private and public educational institutions, also aims to prioritize academically able poor students, ensure optimized utilization of government resources in education and recognize the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the tertiary educational system.
With PNA