Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) on August 23 lambasted the budget cuts for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the proposed national budget for 2024.
“Massive reductions in the education budget means that the government is inhibiting the youth to fulfill their potential, harming their future,” said Kej Andres, national spokesperson of SCMP.
The group said there is an estimated ₱6.16 billion or 5.75% reduction in the budget of SUCs. In the 2023 budget, SUCs received some ₱107 billion while the proposal for next year is ₱101 billion.
Eastern Visayas State University will receive the biggest blow with a 62.04% budget cut – ₱2,185 million in 2023 to just ₱829 million in 2024. SCMP said the capital outlay for SUCs will decrease by ₱9.1 billion next year.
While there is a significant reduction in SUCs funding, Andres criticized the fund allocation for the military, counter-insurgency programs, and national defense.
In the 2024 proposed budget, the Department of National Defense is set for a 21.6 percent increase compared to its budget this year, while the anti-communist task force has a 73.3 percent increase.
Andres accused the government of “wasting people’s money” by allocating more funds for “militaristic agendas” and programs.
“We pray and hope that the calls of the youth for a sufficient public education budget would encourage the conscience of our lawmakers to reallocate military and defense spending towards social services like education,” he said.
