House to realign P12B for free college law implementation in 2026

The House of Representatives will realign P12 billion worth of funding under the proposed P6.7 trillion budget to state universities and colleges (SUCs) to implement the free college law, House appropriations panel chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing said Friday

“This [amendment] pertains to the budgetary support to state universities and colleges for the full implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. We have been informed by the SUCs that the total deficiency as of the year 2025 amounts to P12,307,136,000," Suansing said.

She said the Commission on Higher Education has committed, through a special provision authorized by Congress to be placed in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, to release 7,821,022,998.18 of its proposed budget to address the deficiency.

“What happens to the remaining deficit of P4,486,113,000? I know that a lot of our SUC officials are wondering. The legislature commits to funding the deficit, and with that, the total P12.3 billion deficit to SUCs will all be paid by fiscal year 2026,” she added.

Suansing said that the P7.82 billion of the P12.3 billion will come from CHED’s Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF), while the remaining P4.49 billion will be funded by other realignments that the House will make when the period of amendments takes place.

“These amendments will all be formally introduced during the period of amendments, both the special provision pertaining to the release of the HEDF, as well as the additional funding that will be provided by the legislature to close the deficit,” the lawmaker further said.

“All of our colleagues here in the House want to provide this amount to the SUCs in order to aid their operations.  This is a historic day because after many years the SUCs have been lobbying for this deficiency to be addressed. Today, we have all come together to address this situation and ensure that all accountabilities are addressed and closed come fiscal year 2026,” she added.

Tingog party-list Rep. and House higher and technical education panel chairperson Jude Acidre, for his part, said the payment of such deficit is long overdue.

“I commend the leadership of Congress and CHED for ensuring that the ?12.3 billion deficit will now be fully funded. This is a victory for our SUCs and our students. But beyond immediate relief, we must fix the root of the problem,” he said.

“SUCs should not be penalized for growing enrollment when the law itself anticipated such growth and provided a lawful framework for appropriations,” he added. —AOL, GMA Integrated News