Palace: Kristel's suicide 'unfortunate,' aid to poor students in place

Malacañang on Tuesday described the suicide of UP-Manila student Kristel Tejada as an “unfortunate incident” as it stressed that it is up to the UP system to address the issue on tuition, which reportedly led to Tejada's suicide. “[Tuition] is an internal policy of the UP system,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said at a press briefing. “So we leave it with the UP to review their policies. Sila na po ang bahalang sumagot dito sa isyu na ‘yan.” “This is an unfortunate incident which dealt with the internal policy of the UP school system,” he added. Tejada, 16, a Behavioral Sciences student, committed suicide March 15 reportedly due to financial difficulties that forced her to file a leave of absence this semester. Her death resulted in a firestorm of criticisms toward the university's policy on tuition. Lacierda said the administration has always strived to provide increased budgets to state universities and colleges as well as scholarships and grants that cash-strapped students can avail of. “Last year tinaasan ang budget ng SUC kaya wala kang nakikitang rally sa kalye because ang DBM (Department of Budget and Management), ang gobyerno, tinaasan ang budget ng mga state universities and colleges especially also UP,” Lacierda said, before enumerating existing programs that provide assistance to poor but deserving students. “We have several scholarships from CHED (The Commission on Higher Education). For instance, we’ve got scholarships for bright Filipino students whose general weighted average is 90 percent and above. The financial benefit is P30,000 per annum. We’ve got grants-in-aid for bright Filipino students whose general average is 85 to 89 percent scholars and the grant is 15,000 per annum,” he said. “Then, we have also what we call ‘Tulong Dunong’ study grant programs for solo parents and their dependents; national integration study grant program for members of the cultural minority groups; selected ethnic group education assistance program for the members of the hill tribes. [At] meron po tayong OPAPP-CHED study grant program intended for former rebels and the legitimate and legitimized dependents which expands access to college education opportunities,” Lacierda added. Loans Lacierda also boasted of the government’s loan policies. “May student loans po tayo extended for poor but deserving students who are entering freshman college or tertiary students with college units earned,” he said. Tejada’s family had earlier said they tried to secure such loans from UP to no avail. A memorandum by the UP Manila Office of the Vice Chancellor on Academic Affairs issued last August 2012 states that students who have not paid their tuition are not considered officially enrolled for the current semester. In Tejada's case, she failed to pay her second semestral fees as she was not able to secure a loan from the school, her mother said. Despite this, Lacierda was adamant that the administration has continuously improved the budgeting of SUCs. “What we’re saying is that we have improved the budget as well of the SUCs, at the same time, we leave it with also the SUCs on how they manage their policies regarding tuition fee,” he said. Lacierda denied that the government has been remiss in its duty in supporting poor students. Higher budget “I don’t believe so. We have continuously thrived for a greater budget for education. Tuloy pa rin ang pag-akyat po ng ating budget para sa edukasyon,” he said, Instead, Lacierda urged the public to keep calm and study facts that will in turn lead to solutions instead of turning emotional over Tejada’s death. “As in any situation, we need to look into the facts. Let’s look into the facts first. This is an unfortunate experience but let’s [deal] with it calmly and with sobriety so that we can provide solutions rather than emotional responses to this,” he said. “Understandably, it is a painful experience but it has to be resolved through sobriety and studying the policies within their school system,” Lacierda added. — KBK, GMA News