Angara urges gov’t to use budget hike for education

MANILA, Philippines - The P163-billion increase in the proposed 2014 national budget should be used to fund education, health care and job generation programs, Team PNoy senatorial candidate and Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said yesterday.

Noting that education is the key to improving the plight of the poor, Angara said the conditional cash transfer, or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, should be reformatted and expanded to fund one college scholarship for every family-beneficiary.

An expanded study-now-pay-later program will help broaden the access of bright students from poor families to college education and will rein in the high dropout rate, Angara added.

He also proposed that the basic monthly salary of public school teachers be increased to P33,000.

Moreover, while he welcomes the Aquino administration’s “big emphasis on infrastructure spending” as this is one way to create jobs, promote tourism and sustain economic growth, Angara said that the provision of “universal health care to citizens” is another program that deserves funding.