UP students stage nationwide protest against budget cut

CEBU, Philippines –  A nationwide protest rally was held to oppose President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino’s budget cut on the proposed 2011 National Budget.

Spearheaded by the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu College, yesterday afternoon’s rally at the UP Campus was supported by hundreds of students from universities and state colleges in Cebu City.

Kyle Tumbiga, chairperson of the League of the Filipino Students in Cebu, told The FREEMAN that it was only the start of upcoming rallies in connection with the budget cut on education.

He said the decreasing government support to state colleges and universities will lead to increase in tuition fees and other excessive fees in the universities. Tumbiga believes that the government should give a high priority on education so it would be affordable and accessible to all.

Next year’s budget is said to be the biggest budget cut in the history of the state university.

From the P18.5 billion proposed budget, it is now down to P5.5 billion or 1.39 percent less than the previous year’s budget.The budget for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures is slashed by 52 percent while the Capital Outlay is reduced to zero.

To show their protest, students of the University of the Philippines wore black shirts yesterday and tied red ribbons around the trees in the campus.

 “We challenge the Aquino administration to reverse its policies to reduce the budget for education. He must do what he promised during the campaign, that he will prioritize education,” a student said. (FREEMAN)