free tuition law

Sponsorship Speech on the Full Implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act

P.S. RESOLUTION NO. 620

A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE 

FOR THE IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS 

OF THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO QUALITY TERTIARY EDUCATION ACT BY ADMINISTERING AND AFFORDING THE STUDENTS 

FREE TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES AT THE START 

OF THE SECOND SEMESTER OF ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-2018 

  

  

Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV 
17th Congress, Senate of the Philippines
Sponsorship Speech, February 12, 2018

  

Good afternoon, Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, mga kaibigan at mga kababayan, magandang magandang hapon po sa ating lahat. 

It is an honor, Mr. President, to sponsor a Resolution Expressing the Sense of the Senate for the Immediate Implementation of the Provisions of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act by administering and affording the students free tuition and other school fees, including this current semester, which is the second semester of Academic Year 2017-2018. 

Mr. President and dear colleagues, on January 24, 2017, I delivered my sponsorship speech enjoining all of us to stand behind free college education in the Philippines, as principal sponsor of the now enacted Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, 

 Thanks to your support and thanks to the hard work and strong will of a great number of advocates in and outside Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines ratified this landmark bill on May 30, 2017. 

On August 3, 2017, Mr. President, amidst rumors and threats of a veto, the President signed this revolutionary reform into law as Republic Act No. 10931. 

Mr. President and fellow lawmakers, I remember how we all worked together and crossed  party lines to champion education in the Philippines! 

 Together, we enacted a progressive new policy that prohibits our public universities and colleges from charging their students tuition fees and other school fees. 

 Sa totoo lang, Mr. President, pag binabalita ko po ito sa mga estudyante at magulang, hindi po sila makapaniwala na wala na silang babayaran sa kolehiyo. 

 Sa mga hindi pa po makakapaniwala, totoo po! Naisabatas na po noong August 3 at naging effective ng August 18! Bawal na mangolekta ng tuition fees at miscellaneous fees ang mga state universities at colleges sa ating bansa. 

 And more than this, Mr. President, on December 19, 2017, the General Appropriations Act was signed and sealed with a 41-billion-peso allotment for the implementation of this landmark legislation. 

— 

 Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, we all know that we secured significant funding to cover this law. 

 In fact as early as 2016, thanks to our colleagues Sen. Lacson and budget chairperson, Sen. Legarda, an 8.3 billion peso budget was inserted into the 2017 General Appropriations Act. 

Thanks to this insertion, all 112 state universities and colleges eliminated the tuition fee charge for about 1.6 million students! 

 Take note Mr. President, dito sa P8.3 bilyon na ito, mayroon pa ring natitirang 4.9 billion na nasa budget allocation pong ito.

 This year, Mr. President, there is an additional 41 billion pesos in the 2018 budget to ensure that our countrymen will receive the full benefit of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. 

 Mr. President, this P41 billion is divided into two. 17.7 billion pesos for our newly created Tertiary Education Subsidy for college scholarships, and this can be availed of by students from both public and private universities. Of course, the remodeled and improved student loan program. 

 Of course, Mr. President, and more importantly, we have 23.3 billion pesos to cover tuition fees and other school fees, like miscellaneous fees, in our SUCs, LUCs and TESDA-run technical vocational schools. 

 Mr. President, this astounding 23.3 billion pesos can fund, not only the current second semester of Academic Year 2017-18, this the ongoing semester right now Mr. President, but it can also fund Academic School Year 2018-19. In short, sobra-sobra pa ang nailaan natin para sa budget sa libreng kolehiyo sa bansa.

— 

 Mr. President, the question is no longer should provide students with a free college education. The answer, Mr. President is yes because we passed the law. The question, Mr. President, is no longer whether we can afford it because in the 2018 GAA, sobra-sobra pa, from the 2017 GAA, mayroong P4-plus billion pang natitira. 

 The question, Mr. President is when? When will we implement this landmark law kung saan tayo nagkaisa at pinasa ang nakapagandang batas na ito? Kailan?

 When will our public universities and colleges provide free tuition and free miscellaneous expenses for the benefit of the students? 

When will this landmark law be fully implemented in out country? 

Pasado na ang batas. Napondohan na sa national budget at sapat na sapat ito.

 Kailan makikinabang ang mga estudyante, ang mga pamilyang Pilipino; kailan po makikinabang ang taumbayan sa libreng kolehiyo sa ating bansa?

— 

 Noong January 26, sinabi po ng CHED na sa Academic Year 2018-2019 pa raw ipapatupad ang libreng kolehiyo, which includes tuition and school fees.

 Ngunit, Mr. President, noong bicameral conference, at marami sa atin ang nandoon, and this was chaired by Sen. Escudero, nagkasundo ang kumite na on the record, nilagay natin na ang intensiyon ng mambabatas ay kasama ang 2nd semester sa implementation ng batas.

Sa ating nakalaang 2018 budget, Mr. President, kasama po ang libreng tuition at miscellaneous fees ng kasalukuyang semester sa ating napondohan. Alam ho natin ito dahil kasama natin ang CHED.

Senator Legarda can attest to this. We worked with CHED to include the second semester and the language needed to include the current semester in the 2018 budget.

In short, Mr. President, wala tayong nakikitang funding or legal requirement kung bakit hindi sinasama ang current semester sa implementation ng ating batas. Hindi po pondo ang problema, hindi po legalities and problema, ang problema, hindi ito ipinatutupad ng CHED.

 Mr. President, we witnessed this CHED employees and our LBRMO, through our office, worked together during the budget deliberations to ensure that the language of the budget provision allows for the fund to be used to cover tuition and other school fees for this current semester.

In short, napag-usapan poi to at binoto po natin ito when we passed the GAA. 

So, Mr. President, ang tanong – kailan ba talaga natin ipapatupad ang batas? 

 When will our students and their families experience the financial relief of a free college education? 

 Mr. President, CHED says tomorrow. But with the sense of the Senate resolution signed by practically everybody here in the Senate, we say, yesterday!  Yesterday, Mr. President, dapat napatupad na.

— 

 Yesterday, Mr. President, I went through videos, photos and stories of students who dream of a college education and of course, the parents who work tirelessly to make it happen. 

Na-meet ko Mr. President si Nanay Joana, isang microfinance beneficiary sa Batangas. Mr. President, pangarap niyang makapagtapos ng kolehiyo ang dalawa niyang anak kaya naman todo ang pagkayod ni Nanay Joana na nagtitinda ng samu’t saring produkto, nangungutang para makapagbayad ng tuition at iba pang school fees para sa kanyang anak sa Batangas State University.

Nandoon po si Aling Susana ng Zambales.  Siya’y mayroong apat na anak. Dalawa ang hindi na nakapagtuloy sa kolehiyo ngunit ang dalawa ay pursigido magtapos ng college. 

Dalawang taon nang tumigil ang kaniyang pangatlong anak ng pag-aaral dahil sa kahirapan sa buhay. Sa dalawang taon pong iyon, nag-ipon ang pamilya, nagtiyaga sa pangingisda, pagtatanim at pagbebenta ng kanilang ani. 

 Dahil sa libreng tuition, nag-aral na ng automotive course sa Ramon Magsaysay Technological University ang kaniyang anak na lalaki na 21 years old. Ito ang pinakabata ngunit nahihirapan pa rin at kailangan pa rin ng ayuda para matustusan ang lahat ng gastos.

Naririyan din si Kuya Noli, isang security guard sa Iloilo. Noong nagpunta ako kung saan siya nagtatrabaho, nabanggit ko sa isang interview na magiging libre na ang kolehiyo.  Sa kaniyang tuwa, napasigaw siya ng, “Buti na lang!” kasi mayroon siyang dalawang anak sa college.

Kahit nagtatrabaho siya bilang security at ang kanyang asawa ay labas-pasok bilang overseas Filipino, nahihirapan pa rin silang mabayaran ang gastos sa bahay at sa pag-aaral ng kanyang mga anak. 

 “Sa libreng tuition,” sabi ni Kuya Noli, “magkakaroon na ng magandang kinabukasan ang mga anak namin at makakatulong rin sila sa aming pamilya.” 

 Mr. President, umaasa po sina Nanay Joana, Aling Susana, Kuya Noli, at napakarami pang magulang sa kapangyarihan ng edukasyon. 

Umaasa sila sa oportunidad na mabuksan ng isang college degree para sa kanilang anak ang isang mas magandang bukas.

Araw-araw, buwan-buwan, taon-taon, sila’y kumakayod upang matustusan ang gastos sa bahay at mapaaral ang kanilang mga anak. 

Mr. President, kailangan nating tularan ang mga magulang na ito. Tulad po nila, pangalagahan natin ang edukasyon at manalig na ito’y isang mabisang solusyon upang matuldukan ang kahirapan sa ating bayan. 

Tulad ng mga mabubuting magulang na iyan, gawin po natin ang lahat upang mapaaral ng kolehiyo ang ating mga kabataan. 

 Let’s take inspiration from these stories, from the work that they put in, from the love that they give to their children, and countless Filipino families who work together, who exhaust all opportunities just to achieve a dream of prosperity. 

— 

  

Mr. President and dear colleagues, on January 24, 2016, I delivered my sponsorship speech enjoining you to stand behind free college education in the Philippines. And of course, everybody responded.

 This, Mr. President, if I’m not mistaken is still one of our priority bills in the 17th Congress. Many of us, Mr. President, took a stand and said we will pass free college education in the Philippines. Today, with the sense of the Senate, we take another stand to say that we want this implemented right now. Ngayon na po.

Mr. President, with my co-authors who I’d like to thank again — Senators Recto, Villanueva, Ejercito, Gatchalian, Pangilinan, Angara, Legarda, De Lima, Villar, Zubiri, Gordon and of course Senators Lacson and Legarda for the first budget allocation in 2017.

I would like to thank everyone from getting behind the sense of the Senate and to show our country that we stand behind our students who wish to get free education.

We stand especially for the parents and the breadwinners who worked non-stop so that their children can achieve their dreams.

I call on all of us to unite and demand for the full implementation of RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

Sen. Bam calls on CHED, SUCs to refund students for tuition and miscellaneous fees

Senator Bam Aquino wants state universities and colleges (SUCs) to refund the fees they collected from students in the second semester of school year 2017-18 with the free college law now in effect.

In a radio interview, Sen. Bam said the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) should be implementing Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act for the second semester of Academic Year 2017-18.

Sen. Bam said some SUCs have already complied with the law and stopped collecting tuition and other fees from students. However, there were some schools which continue to do so despite the law’s enactment, possibly due to lack of funds.

“Mayroon nang mga SUCs ang hindi nangolekta ngayong semester. Sa mga nangolekta na, ang gusto natin ay i-refund ang ibinayad ng mga estudyante at kanilang pamilya,” said Sen. Bam, the principal sponsor and co-author of RA 10931 in the Senate.

During the interview, Sen. Bam renewed his call to CHED to fully implement RA 10931, saying Filipino families need it more than ever, especially amid the rising prices in goods and services due to the passage of the tax reform law.

“Kung tutulong tayo, huwag nang magtimpi. Lubus-lubusin na ang tulong, ipatupad na ang libreng tuition at miscellaneous fees,” stressed Sen. Bam.

On Monday, the Senate unanimously supported Sen. Bam’s push for the full and immediate implementation of RA 10931 in the second semester of school year 2017-18.

After Sen. Bam delivered a sponsorship speech for Senate Resolution No. 620 that he filed, the senators adopted it immediately.

In Senate Resolution No. 620, Sen. Bam urged the Senate to express a united front in support of the full implementation of the free college law, in light of the announcement of a June 2018 implementation by CHED.

During his sponsorship speech, Sen. Bam said that representatives from both Houses of Congress expressly agreed on the legislative intent to implement it by November 2017 during the bicameral conference committee on Republic Act 10931.

Sen. Bam also insisted that during the budget deliberation for Republic Act 10931, the CHED-UNIFAST declared to the members of the Senate that the P41 billion budget allocation was sufficient to cover the tuition and other fees in SUCs starting second semester of 2017-18.

The commitment was contrary to the latest statement by CHED officer-in-charge Popoy de Vera that it plans to fully implement the law stating June 2018 for Academic Year 2018-19, with CHED still in the process of finalizing the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

Sen. Bam believes that with RA 10931 now in effect and an approved budget to support its execution, there’s no reason for CHED not to attend to its immediate implementation.

Sen. Bam rallies Senate to support full, immediate implementation of free college

Senator Bam Aquino enjoined his colleagues to push for the full and immediate implementation of Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act at the start of the second semester of school year 2017-18.

 “Let’s push for the fulfillment of the free college law and relieve our students and their family members of financial burdens,” said Sen. Bam, the principal sponsor and co-author of the free college law, during his sponsorship speech of Senate Resolution No. 620 that he filed recently.

 In Senate Resolution No. 620, Sen. Bam urged the Senate to express a united front in support of the full implementation of the free college law, in light of the announcement of a June 2018 implementation by Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

 “Students in public universities and colleges have the right to demand for the implementation of the free college law. Naisabatas at may pondo na ito,” asserted Sen. Bam.

 According to the senator, representatives from both Houses of Congress expressly agreed on the legislative intent to implement it by November 2017 during the bicameral conference committee on Republic Act 10931.

Sen. Bam also insisted that during the budget deliberation for Republic Act 10931, the CHED-UNIFAST declared to the members of the Senate that the P41 billion budget allocation was sufficient to cover the tuition and other fees in SUCs starting second semester of 2017-18.

The commitment was contrary to the latest statement by CHED officer-in-charge Popoy de Vera that it plans to fully implement the law stating June 2018 for Academic Year 2018-19, with CHED still in the process of finalizing the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

 “The non-issuance of IRR should not prevent the Executive faithfully executing the law. Ano pa ang hinihintay natin,” Sen. Bam pointed out in his resolution.

Sen. Bam believes that with RA 10931 now in effect and an approved budget to support its execution, there’s no reason for CHED not to attend to its immediate implementation.

After his speech, the Senate unanimously adopted Sen. Bam’s resolution.

 The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, principally sponsored by Sen. Bam, provides free tuition and miscellaneous fees to students in SUCs, local universities and colleges (LUCs) and TESDA-run vocational schools.

Scholarship grants and student loans will also be made available to students of both public and private college and universities.

The measure was languishing in the legislative mill for years before it was passed during Sen. Bam’s time as chairman of the Committee on Education in the 17th Congress. This was Sen. Bam’s 19th law in his four years as senator.

Sen. Bam: Free college is a courtesy, not hush money

The government should not use free education to gain political loyalty or prohibit students from exercising their right to free expression and dissent, according to Sen. Bam Aquino.

 “Walang kapalit ang libreng kolehiyo. Hindi dapat nilalagyan ng pamahalaan ng limitasyon ang karapatan ng mga estudyante kapalit ng libreng edukasyon sa pampublikong unibersidad at kolehiyo,” said Sen. Bam, principal sponsor and co-author of RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

 “The free college law is a form of benefit to the Filipino people, and should not be used for blackmail or as hush money,” added Sen. Bam.

 Sen. Bam stressed that students in SUCs must not surrender their right to speak and dissent just to enjoy free education.

 “We commend the Filipino youth who continue working for a cause, speaking up and speaking out against policies that are counter to their values and beliefs,” said Sen. Bam.

Also, Sen. Bam is confident that Filipino students are responsible enough to know their limitations or if their actions are affecting their studies or not.

 “Tiwala ako na responsable na ang ating mga estudyante. Hindi nila hahayaang makaapekto ang kanilang pagpapahayag ng saloobin sa kanilang pag-aaral,” said Sen. Bam, allaying fears that protesting students are a waste of taxpayers’ money.

 The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act provides free education to students in SUCs, local universities and colleges (LUCs) and TESDA-run vocational schools. Aside from tuition fees, the government will shoulder miscellaneous and all other mandatory fees.

 Scholarship grants will be made available to students of both public and private college and universities. It also provides a new and improved student loan program, where students can apply for financing for other education expenses.

Also, the law allows students taking post-graduate studies to avail of the new and improved student loan program and scholarships under the law.

Sen. Bam is one of the co-authors and the sole principal sponsor of the free college law in the Senate.

 

Sen. Bam: Family expenses rising, implement free college law now

Senator Bam Aquino called out the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for its failure to fully implement the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which provides for free tuition and other miscellaneous expenses in state universities and colleges (SUCs). 

Sen. Bam, principal sponsor and co-author of RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, reminded CHED that the law became effective last August 18, 2017, and should already cover the 2nd semester of school year 2017-2018 as manifested both during the bicameral conference and the ratification of the bill in the Senate.

 In addition, CHED also committed to this to Sen. Aquino’s office during the budget deliberations. The Congress and Senate allotted P40 billion in the 2018 national budget for its implementation.

 “Mahalagang maipatupad na ang free college law sa public universities and colleges, lalo pa’t nararamdaman na ng taumbayan ang epekto ng TRAIN sa presyo ng mga bilihin,” said Sen. Bam, referring to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) that was recently enacted into law by the Duterte government. 

 “Tumataas na nga ang presyo ng bilihin, pinagbabayad pa rin ng mga eskuwelahan ang ating mahihirap na pamilya samantalang libre na dapat ang tuition, pati miscellaneous fees,” said Sen. Bam, who voted against the ratification of TRAIN. 

The law provides free education to students in SUCs, local universities and colleges (LUCs) and TESDA-run vocational schools.

 Aside from tuition fees, the government will shoulder miscellaneous and all other mandatory fees.

Scholarship grants will be made available to students of both public and private college and universities. It also provides a new and improved student loan program, where students can apply for financing for other education expenses.

 In addition, students taking post-graduate studies can avail of the new and improved student loan program and scholarships under the law. 

The measure was languishing in the legislative mill for years before it was passed during Sen. Bam’s time as chairman of the Committee on Education in the 17th Congress. This was Sen. Bam’s 19th law in his four years as senator.

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