THE COMMITTEE on Higher and Technical Education at the House of Representatives tackled the concerns of State Universities and Colleges, particularly the shortage of funds.

The presidents of 114 SUCs attended the hearing chaired by Baguio City Rep. Mark Go.

Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges President Dr. Tirso Ronquillo said that SUCs have one common concern — not enough budget.

Ronquillo reported that their original budget proposal for FY 2021 was P147.7 billion but only P79.16 billion was submitted to Congress.

An additional P6.08 billion was approved by Congress, raising the budget to P85.96 billion for 2021.

“An increase in the percentage can help improve capabilities and capacities to deliver an inclusive, accessible, equitable and quality tertiary education,” Ronquillo said.

With limited funding, he said that SUCs are struggling to improve their physical facilities, academic space, Information Technology infrastructure and support facilities.

The other concerns raised by SUCs include the full implementation of the Cash Budgeting System in 2022; faculty promotion through the implementation of National Budget Circular 461 which contains the revision and updates on the compensation and position classification plan for faculty positions; provision of additional plantilla positions for non-teaching staff; and limited access of SUCs to Covid19 vaccines.

Go promised to help address these concerns.

“Whatever we can do in Congress to address these issues, we will do it. We will also start preparing on how we can help you increase your budget for 2022,” he said.