FORMER Senator Bam Aquino on Tuesday (18 Feb 2025) stressed the importance of the Free College Law during a meeting with student leaders from the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines in Cagayan de Oro.

Aquino also discussed his platform of expanding the Free College Law to cover more students, ensuring that subsidies for other school expenses are properly funded, and pushing for guaranteed employment for Filipinos.

“In other countries, the Department of Education and the Department of Employment are combined because they know this process should lead to the right employment,” Aquino said.

“What we want is that, before they graduate, students already have a job offer. This won’t happen if our market, commerce, and schools are not integrated,” he explained.

“Schools need the space to make adjustments within the framework of CHED to be more responsive to the market,” he added.

Aquino also answered questions from student leaders about his legislative plans if elected and met with USTP officials to discuss his education platform.