Nagkakaisa umano ang mga senador na hindi tatapyasan ang pondong nakalaan sa state colleges and universities (SUCs) para sa 2021, ayon kay Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.
"Insofar as the Senate is concerned, the unanimous consensus is that SUCs are no-cut zones, insofar as their NEP budget is concerned. They have been vaccinated against budget cuts," pahayag ni Recto nitong Miyerkules.
"Calls for academic freeze will not be met with a funding brake. The correct response is not to defund any, but to increase the funds of as many as possible," dagdag niya.
Nitong Martes ng gabi, nagbanta si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na aalisan ng pondo ang University of the Philippines (UP) dahil sa pagre-recruit umano ng mga kabataan para maging rebeldeng komunista.
Ginawa ni Duterte ang batikos matapos manawagan ang mga mag-aaral ng Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) ng "academic strike" bilang protesta sa umano'y "criminally neglectful" ng pamahalaan sa pagtugon sa kalamidad at pandemya.
Tinawag naman ni Senador Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan na "legally infirm" ang pag-alis ng pondo sa UP.
"Why are the students protesting? Let's go back to that. This is not unique to the Philippines... And I was a student leader and activist during my student days in UP," sabi ni Pangilinan sa panayam ng ANC.
"The youth will always be a source or a catalyst of change. I think more than anything else if you try to stop that, you’re going against how history unfolds. They are who they are, the youth and students will always be catalysts of change," patuloy niya.
Sa National Expenditure Program ng 2021 budget, may nakalaan na P20.8 bilyon para sa kabuuang UP System.
Ayon kay Recto, ang paunang pondo na inaprubahan ng Department of Budget and Management para sa SUCs ay maaari pang dagdagan kung makikita ng mga mambabatas ang pangangailangan.
Kasalukuyang hinihimay ng Senado ang panukalang pondo ng pamahalaan sa 2021 na nagkakahalaga ng P4.5 trilyon.— FRJ, GMA News
