New senator Gatchalian to push for free college education

Newly proclaimed senator and outgoing Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said he would once again push for the passage of a law providing free education in all state universities and colleges (SUC).

Gatchalian is the author of House Bill 5905 or the proposed Free Higher Education Act, which seeks to allot P10.5 billion from the Presidential Social Fund to cover for the subsidy. However, this bill was not passed into law.

Before the proclamation of 12 winning senators at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday, Gatchalian said, "First bill natin would be related to education. Ang ating finile sa Congress at ire-refile ang Free Higher Education Act na ang layunin ay gawing libre ang tuition sa pampublikong kolehiyo at unibersidad."

The lawmaker said the government is capable of making SUCs tuition-free considering the country's good economic performance, improving tax collection, and the unused allocation for infrastructure.

In a statement in July last year, Gatchalian said, "Our proposed budget in making SUCs tuition-free is only less than one percent or 0.35 percent of the P3-trillion national appropriations for next year. This bill will benefit around 1.3 million students enrolled in SUCs."

Gatchalian placed 10th in the senatorial race with 14,953,768 votes. — VVP, GMA News