PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has vetoed the bill amending the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) charter to declare it as National Polytechnic University, Malacañang announced on Friday.

“Ang sinasabi pong bill ay na-veto ng Pangulo (The bill in question was vetoed by the President),” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing, when asked to confirm if the proposed measure had already lapsed into law.

Castro said the bill was vetoed because of non-compliance with the assessment of the PUP.

Marcos, nevertheless, remains optimistic that the PUP would be recognized as a national polytechnic university, Castro said.

“Nagkaroon po ng direktiba noon pa pong 2016 na dapat magkaroon ng assessment at sa ngayon po lumalabas na hindi po nagkaroon ng compliance para sa re-assessment ng nasabing paaralan (There was a directive back in 2016 that there should be an assessment, and now it appears that there was no compliance with the re-assessment of the said school),” she said.

“Umaasa siya (Marcos) na ang PUP po ay magkakaroon din po ng national university status kapag po na-comply nila lahat ng mga compliance (He hopes that PUP would also get a national university status when they comply with all compliance),” Castro added.

The PUP, founded in 1904, has more than 20 campuses serving thousands of students. Its main campus is located in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Before the enactment of the free tertiary education law, PUP was one of the state universities that offered low tuition fees at about PHP12 per unit.

The proposed amendments to the PUP charter aim to ensure greater institutional and fiscal autonomy to better serve its growing student population, which reached 93,000 enrollees this year.

The bill introduces key provisions that would strengthen PUP’s governance, expand its degree offerings, and establish the PUP Center for Artificial Intelligence, Computational Thinking, and Key Emerging Technologies.

The measure aims to place PUP at the forefront of technological innovation, making advanced education and research more accessible to Filipinos. (PNA)