Diokno advised Duterte to veto free tuition bill during Palace meeting —Drilon

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno has advised President Rodrigo Duterte to veto Congress’ proposal granting tuition-free education in all state universities and colleges (SUCs), a senator disclosed Wednesday.

In an interview, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said one of the topics discussed during a meeting of a group of senators with Duterte in Malacañang Tuesday night was the free tuition bill.

Drilon said the Senate contingent pushed for the approval of the measure, even if its implementation need not be in its totality during the first year.

“In other words, we can phase it so that the other aspects of the law can be implemented after year one. As expected, Sec. Diokno objected to the approval of the President and strongly recommended a veto, and was pushing for the full implementation instead of UniFAST law,” Drilon said.

“Now the bill is with the President. I’m sure that he will consider the views of the senators present and the opposition of Sec. Diokno. At the end of the day, that is the burden of leadership. We hope that the President will approve this bill,” he said.

The proposal, already ratified by both houses of Congress, was submitted for the President’s signature on July 5. It will lapse into law by August 5 if Duterte fails to act on it.

Diokno earlier expressed opposition to the proposal, saying the government cannot afford to shoulder its cost. Diokno estimated that the proposal would cost P100 billion.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia meanwhile said granting full subsidy to tuition fees in all SUCs will disadvantage private higher education institutions.

Ready to refile

Senator Sonny Angara, one of the authors of the proposal, said he will refile the bill if and when Duterte vetoes it.

“It is not yet time for its funeral. I think, with the cooperation and collaboration of our friends in the Executive, we can still salvage the situation and work on how to fine-tune the measure when we refile it,” he said.

Angara appealed to his colleagues in Congress not to include riders in the bill which may lead to future veto.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, also an author, explained that the Senate’s original version was limited to tuition only.

“This was the Senate position. But the final version that was sent to the President’s desk expanded it, to cover ‘and other school fees.' In short, four words torpedoed the measure, four words which gave the economic managers the reason to call for its rejection,” Recto explained.

“As a matter of tactic, unti-unti. Tuition muna. Kasi ‘yan ang basic. Then susunod na ang ilang miscellaneous fees. Just to break ground. Incremental change is not bad if you have a long haul strategy. Eh dahil isang bagsak, nakakita ng opening ang mga economic advisers to veto it,” he said.

The final proposal approved by Congress also seeks free tuition in local universities and colleges (LUCs) and technical and vocational institutions (TVI) recognized by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Still, Recto said Diokno’s estimated budget of P100 billion was “inflated to sow fear into the President’s mind.”

For the meantime, Angara said the government should ensure the full implementation of the UniFAST law or the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act.

Republic Act 10687 or the UniFAST Act of 2015 mandates the government to put up a system and create a body that would oversee and harmonize all student financial assistance programs for a more targeted, speedy and sustained granting of scholarship programs. —KG, GMA News