Thirty out of 117 state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines are set to receive less funding for 2024, based on the proposed national budget submitted by the Marcos Jr. administration.

According to the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the 117 SUCs are set to receive a combined budget of Php100.9 billion next year, a Php6.2-billion decrease from this year’s Php107 billion budget.

The hefty cut can be seen in the allotted funding for capital outlay (CO) or the budget for infrastructure construction and purchase of facilities. From the Php14.6 billion appropriated in 2023, the Marcos Jr. administration proposes a 62-percent or Php9.1 billion CO cut, bringing the total CO allotment to only Php5.5 billion.

Meanwhile, the Marcos Jr. administration is also proposing a Php25.9-million cut in the SUCs’ maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), or the budget used to support agencies’ operations, including expenses for supplies and materials, transportation and travel, utilities, and repairs. From the Php35.8 billion total SUCs budget for MOOE this year, the government proposes slashing less than a percent of the said amount, bringing the total MOOE budget next year to only Php35.8 billion.

Only the personnel services (PS) budget – or the amount used to pay salaries, wages, and other compensation – will receive a 5-percent increase, from Php56.6 billion this year to Php59.6 billion in 2024.

Aside from SUCs, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), the main agency overseeing tertiary education in the Philippines, will also suffer cuts in public funding. From the current Php31.7 billion budget for CHEd, the agency is set to receive a Php742.5-million cut, lowering its budget next year to only Php30.9 billion.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel said that the impending budget cut in SUCs reflects the Marcos Jr. administration’s disregard for quality tertiary education.

“The 5.8% proposed budget cut in SUCs is an injustice to students and the education community. Some SUCs are already grasping at straws and implementing different income-generating schemes due to being underfunded this 2023,” the youth lawmaker said.

Impending cuts

The University of the Philippines (UP) System would be the SUC that will suffer the heftiest cut when ranked based on the impending total budget reduction.

Comparing the UP budget indicated in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA), and the 2024 NEP, UP is set to suffer a Php2.9-billion budget cut, with funding for the national university decreasing from the current Php24.3 billion to only Php21.3 billion in 2024.

The bulk of the impending cut will be from the reduction in CO allotment: from the Php1.7 billion CO funding that UP is set to receive this year, the Marcos administration is only proposing Php52 million next year, or a Php1.7-billion difference.

UP will also suffer a Php1.6-billion cut in its MOOE budget, from the current Php8.1 billion to only Php6.5 billion in 2024.

Mindanao State University (MSU) ranks second in the list of SUCs that will suffer big decreases, with the university set to receive only Php4.01 billion in total funding in 2024, down by Php2.4 billion from its current Php6.4 billion budget. The budget cut for MSU can be attributed to a Php2.4-billion decrease in funding for CO.

Meanwhile, of the 30 SUCs that are set to suffer budget cuts, Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) tops the list when ranked based on the percent difference in its budget for 2023 and 2024.

EVSU is set to receive a 62-percent reduction in its budget, from the current Php2.2 billion to only P829.3 million in 2024, which can be attributed to the Php1.5-billion budget reduction for CO.

Rep. Manuel said that youth groups nationwide “will not simply stand and just watch as the impending cuts get legislated.”

“We have started to consult with different SUCs’ student regents and administrators to hear their demands and their own proposed budget. We hope to unite as many as we can inside and out of Congress for the call to increase the budget of SUCs,” he explained.

‘Rechannel confidential & intelligence funds’

As the national budget deliberations start in Congress, Rep. Manuel said that the Makabayan bloc – composed of Kabataan, ACT Teachers, and Gabriela Women’s Party – will push for the rechanneling of confidential and intelligence funds allotted in the 2024 budget to social services, including supplementing the budget for SUCs and the education sector.

Rep. Manuel explained that confidential and intelligence funds do not undergo public scrutiny, and even most legislators are unaware of where these funds are being used. The said funds are prone to corruption and may be footing the bill for the government’s “black operations,” or operations that involve committing human rights violations and crimes against humanity, the youth lawmaker explained.

Totaling Php10.1 billion in the proposed 2024 budget – Php5.3 billion allotted for intelligence funds and Php4.9 billion allotted for confidential funds – the said funding is more than enough to cover the impending Php6.2 billion budget cut for SUCs, Rep. Manuel emphasized.

“Similarly, we will not allow a single cent of public funds to be channeled to the notorious National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or the Maharlika Investment Fund,” Rep. Manuel added.