KABATAAN Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel on Sunday slammed Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s proposal to limit free education.

Manuel said the proposal is illogical and anti-poor.

“There is no such thing as an undeserving student. DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno should be mindful that education is not a commodity subject to cost-cutting measures, but a right that benefits the entire nation and the generations ahead of us. To ensure learning recovery and to unleash the full potential of Filipino youth, we need to uphold their democratic rights,” Manuel said.

He added that the proposed repeal or restrictions on the free college education program on top of the proposed budget cut on State Universities and Colleges is a wholesale attack to further dismantle the public character of tertiary education.

“Reversing the hard-earned victory to provide free college education to students will negatively impact not just current beneficiaries but erect a barrier once again, blocking poorer students from claiming their right to education,” he added.

“We are disappointed but not surprised by DOF Sec. Diokno’s anti-poor stance. Besides, multimillionaire government officials have no ascendancy to say that such a crucial program is not worth funding. The quality of Marcos’ cabinet officials, like Diokno, reflects the leadership of the whole administration: prioritizing the few elite over the basic rights of the people,” the lawmaker said.

Manuel also said that free college education is not a strain on public funds unlike the misplaced and over-bloated budget for confidential and intelligence funds, counterinsurgency operations, infrastructure, and travel expenses reflected on the National Expenditure Program.

The fight for free education, the lawmaker, said is part of a continuing decades-long struggle against the agenda of foreign big businesses and oligarchs to reorient the education system for profit, and much is yet to be achieved.

“The education system remains commercialized: a large majority of college students are in private schools, other school fees remain rampant across universities, and privatization schemes persist even in State Universities and Colleges,” he said.