(Eagle News) – Malacanang welcomed the recent move by the House of Representatives allotting P40 billion for year 2018 to fund the free college education that was initially proposed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that this P40 billion fund would help what the President had envisioned as a “free tertiary public education” that is a “cornerstone of the social development policy of the Duterte administration.”
“We welcome the move of the House of Representatives for allotting P40 billion next year for free college education in state universities and colleges and locally funded colleges,” Abella said.
“We hope that the Senate would fully support the House initiative so that more than one million students in our public universities and colleges can enjoy free tuition and miscellaneous fees starting June 2018,” he added.
Last August, the President signed into law Republic Act 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. This law aims to “provide all Filipinos with equal opportunity to quality tertiary education and give priority to academically able students who come from poor families,” said the Palace statement.
Abella said that the P40 billion, allotted by the House, “would also provide additional stipends for very poor students and allow parents to borrow low-interest loans to help their children complete their education.”
