KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel lauded presidents of State Universities and Colleges for their stand seeking more financial support for education amid the proposed budget cuts for SUCs.

“Pinasasalamatan at pinagpupugayan po natin ang ating SUC Presidents and officials para sa pakikiisa para sa karapatan sa edukasyon ng higit sa 2.1 milyong iskolar ng bayan,” Manuel said.

“Ngayong tapos na ang deliberations sa Kamara at overwhelming majority ang nanalo sa botohan para sa 2024 GAB, ang pagkakaisang ito ng mga SUCs ay dapat maging hudyat sa ating mga senador na ipaglaban ang edukasyon, hindi ang interes ng iilan para sa Confidential and Intelligence funds,” he added.

Manuel cited the united statement of 11 SUC presidents who stressed the importance of government recognition, respect and protection of the people’s right to education.

“Education is a fundamental right that should be accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic status. It plays a vital role in empowering individuals and shaping a just society. However, the current state of our education system fails to adequately cater to the needs of our students due to inadequate financial support,” they said in their statement.

In the 2024 National Expenditure Program, 30 SUCs suffered budget cuts for a total of P6,155,499,000.

Majority of these cuts were focused on budgets for capital outlay, which includes facilities, equipment, and other investments that will serve these institutions for periods longer than the next fiscal year.