THE faculty union of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines assailed the lack of budget allocation for faculty and employees in eight new branches.

“More than P283 million for personnel services for the eight newly created branches was slashed from PUP’s budget proposal,” Professor Arlan Camba, Unyon ng mga Guro sa PUP president, said. “This clearly shows that education is not a priority under the administration,” he added.

The eight branches are PUP Alfonso, Cavite; PUP Oriental Mindoro; PUP Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; PUP San Juan City; PUP Sta. Rosa, Laguna; PUP Cabiao, Nueva Ecija; PUP Leyte and PUP Caloocan City.

Aside from those in Leyte and Caloocan City, the six branches were former PUP campuses that acquired their funding from their respective local government units. The laws that created and turned the six campuses into PUP branches provide that their funding will now come from the PUP Main Campus.

Camba said that PUP has more than 70,000 students in the main campus and its 23 branches and campuses across the country.

“Totally disgusting is that the P2.8 billion total budget of the biggest State University in the country is just peanuts compared to the more than P6.9 billion combined confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice-President,” he said.

The group called on Congress to ensure that PUP branches will have adequate funding for faculty and employees so that the State University can continue to deliver quality education to the Filipino youth.