27/09/2026
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Education cannot be sustained on insufficient funding.
As the PUP community continues to confront overcrowded classrooms, inadequate facilities, limited program capacity, stalled infrastructure projects, and gaps in personnel and student services, the PUP College of Education Student Council joins fellow student leaders and organizations in calling for an education budget that responds to the actual needs of Iskolars ng Bayan.
The proposed FY 2027 budget of the PUP System stands at โฑ15.72 billion. The โฑ3.50 billion allocation made by the Department of Budget and Management leaves a substantial gap in the University's capacity to address its longstanding needs and fulfill its mandate of providing accessible and quality public higher education.
We therefore join the call for PUP President Dr. Manuel M. Muhi to sign Kabataan Partylist's Unity Statement for an Increased Education Budget and stand alongside the 85 SUC Presidents who have expressed support for greater and sustained state investment in public higher education.
For the future teachers of the country, this fight extends beyond the university gates. Every classroom that remains overcrowded, every facility left unfinished, and every educational program constrained by inadequate resources shapes the kind of education we are able to provide and the kind of educators we are able to become.
๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.
PUP OSR AND ANAK PUP CALL ON PUP PRESIDENT DR. MANUEL M. MUHI TO SIGN KABATAAN PARTYLISTโS UNITY STATEMENT FOR HIGHER AND SUFFICIENT EDUCATION BUDGET
Kabataan Partylist, together with the Makabayan Bloc, recently conducted consultations with stakeholders and officials of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) on the continuing challenges faced by public higher education. These consultations resulted in a Unity Statement calling on Congress and the national government to substantially increase funding for education, particularly for Higher Education Institutions and SUCs. The call has gained the support of 85 out of 113 SUC Presidents, including presidents from the University of the Philippines System, University of Rizal System, and Mindanao State University System, among others.
As budget deliberations proceed, the 85 SUC Presidents are collectively calling on Congress to restore the โฑ7,678,582,000.00 in budget decreases affecting 49 SUCs, provide additional and adequate funding for all SUCs nationwide, settle the โฑ5.2 billion in Free Higher Education deficiencies for FY 2025โ2027, adjust SUC budgets based on the true cost of attendance, and fund the โฑ11,508,124,824.20 Capital Outlay wishlist of SUCs. They likewise call for the rechanneling of โฑ107.39 billion from still-questionable flood control projects toward education and other essential social services.
PUP's own budget situation underscores the urgency of these demands. For FY 2027, the PUP System proposed a budget of โฑ15,724,639,000.00, pursuant to National Budget Memorandum No. 156 and as endorsed by the PUP Executive Committee. However, on 11 August, the Department of Budget and Management allocated only โฑ3,501,369,000.00, more than โฑ12.2 billion short of PUP's proposed budget and around โฑ300 million less than its FY 2026 budget. This shortfall directly affects approximately 106,500 Iskolars ng Bayan and PUP's ability to address longstanding needs in facilities, classrooms, program capacity, permanent teaching faculty, wages and working conditions, Other School Fees (OSFs), and stalled infrastructure projects such as the North Academic Building in Manila Campus and the Main Academic Building in Sto. Tomas Campus.
In this situation, the participation of the PUP Administration, particularly President Manuel M. Muhi, is vital. The call for adequate public funding is not solely a concern of Iskolars ng Bayan, but a shared institutional concern of students, faculty, staff, workers, and administrators. As head of the University, President Muhi has an important role in representing PUP's institutional need for sufficient funding before Congress and the national government. His participation in this collective initiative would strengthen the position of PUP alongside other SUCs and demonstrate that the demand for greater investment in public higher education is a shared and urgent institutional necessity.
We therefore call on PUP President Manuel M. Muhi to sign Kabataan Partylist's Unity Statement for an Increased Education Budget and join the 85 SUC Presidents and broader education sector in demanding adequate and sustained state funding for public higher education. With a common interest in ensuring that PUP can fulfill its mandate, we urge the University Administration and the entire PUP community to stand united in defending the educational needs of 106,500 Iskolars ng Bayan and advancing the call for an education budget that genuinely responds to the needs of the people.
SIGNATORIES:
PUP Office of the Student Regent
PUP Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral (SKM) - Manila Campus
PUP College of Communication Student Council
PUP College of Education Student Council
PUP College of Political Science and Public Administration Student Council
PUP College of Science Student Council
PUP College of Business Administration Student Council
PUP College of Human Kinetics
PUP Santa Rosa Campus Student Council
PUP Open University System Student Council
PUP Paranaque City Campus Central Student Council
PUP College of Tourism, Hospitality, and Transportation Management Student Council
PUP San Pedro Campus Central Student Council
PUP College of Accountancy Student Council
PUP Talisay Campus Central Student Council
PUP Sto. Tomas Campus Central Student Council
PUP Institute of Technology Student Council
PUP College of Engineering Student Council
PUP Taguig Central Student Council
PUP College of Social Sciences and Development Student Council
PUP College of Arts and Letters Student Council
READ AND ACCESS THE UNITY STATEMENT:
https://bit.ly/US01-PUPOSR20
