39 SUCs want budget cuts restored

MANILA, Philippines — Administrators of 39 state universities and colleges (SUC) have signed a unity statement calling for the restoration of budget cuts in the 2025 allocation of educational institutions.

Penned by the Kabataan party-list, the statement lamented that the “current state of our education system fails to adequately cater to the needs of our students due to lack of financial support.”

“For a long time now, the Philippine higher education system has been in crisis. Going through the world’s worst and longest school closure has had lasting impacts on the educational community and has presented challenges for administrators, teachers, staff and students alike,” the statement read.

Based on the National Expenditure Program for 2025, the SUCs face a significant decrease of P14.482 billion in funding, from P128.231 billion in 2024 to P113.749 billion next year.

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

The SUCs maintained that additional funding is “needed for learning institutions to regain their public character and provide ample support for student services and faculty development.”

“If SUCs are expected to carry out their duties as higher education institutions, they must be funded accordingly,” the statement read.