Sen. Bam's sponsorship speech for Resolution No. 620

P.S. RESOLUTION NO. 620
A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE
FOR THE IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS
OF THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO QUALITY TERTIARY EDUCATION ACT BY ADMINISTERING AND AFFORDING THE STUDENTS
FREE TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES AT THE START
OF THE SECOND SEMESTER OF ACADEMIC YEAR 2017-2018

Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino IV
17th Congress, Senate of the Philippines
Sponsorship Speech, February 12, 2018

Good afternoon, Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, mga kaibigan at mga kababayan, magandang magandang hapon po sa ating lahat.

It is an honor, Mr. President, to sponsor a Resolution Expressing the Sense of the Senate for the Immediate Implementation of the Provisions of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act by administering and affording the students free tuition and other school fees, including this current semester, which is the second semester of Academic Year 2017-2018.

Mr. President and dear colleagues, on January 24, 2017, I delivered my sponsorship speech enjoining all of us to stand behind free college education in the Philippines, as principal sponsor of the now enacted Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act,

Thanks to your support and thanks to the hard work and strong will of a great number of advocates in and outside Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines ratified this landmark bill on May 30, 2017.

On August 3, 2017, Mr. President, amidst rumors and threats of a veto, the President signed this revolutionary reform into law as Republic Act No. 10931.

Mr. President and fellow lawmakers, I remember how we all worked together and crossed party lines to champion education in the Philippines!

Together, we enacted a progressive new policy that prohibits our public universities and colleges from charging their students tuition fees and other school fees.

Sa totoo lang, Mr. President, pag binabalita ko po ito sa mga estudyante at magulang, hindi po sila makapaniwala na wala na silang babayaran sa kolehiyo.

Sa mga hindi pa po makakapaniwala, totoo po! Naisabatas na po noong August 3 at naging effective ng August 18! Bawal na mangolekta ng tuition fees at miscellaneous fees ang mga state universities at colleges sa ating bansa.

And more than this, Mr. President, on December 19, 2017, the General Appropriations Act was signed and sealed with a 41-billion-peso allotment for the implementation of this landmark legislation.

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Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, we all know that we secured significant funding to cover this law.

In fact as early as 2016, thanks to our colleagues Sen. Lacson and budget chairperson, Sen. Legarda, an 8.3 billion peso budget was inserted into the 2017 General Appropriations Act.

Thanks to this insertion, all 112 state universities and colleges eliminated the tuition fee charge for about 1.6 million students!

Take note Mr. President, dito sa P8.3 bilyon na ito, mayroon pa ring natitirang 4.9 billion na nasa budget allocation pong ito.

This year, Mr. President, there is an additional 41 billion pesos in the 2018 budget to ensure that our countrymen will receive the full benefit of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

Mr. President, this P41 billion is divided into two. 17.7 billion pesos for our newly created Tertiary Education Subsidy for college scholarships, and this can be availed of by students from both public and private universities. Of course, the remodeled and improved student loan program.

Of course, Mr. President, and more importantly, we have 23.3 billion pesos to cover tuition fees and other school fees, like miscellaneous fees, in our SUCs, LUCs and TESDA-run technical vocational schools.

Mr. President, this astounding 23.3 billion pesos can fund, not only the current second semester of Academic Year 2017-18, this the ongoing semester right now Mr. President, but it can also fund Academic School Year 2018-19. In short, sobra-sobra pa ang nailaan natin para sa budget sa libreng kolehiyo sa bansa.

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Mr. President, the question is no longer should provide students with a free college education. The answer, Mr. President is yes because we passed the law. The question, Mr. President, is no longer whether we can afford it because in the 2018 GAA, sobra-sobra pa, from the 2017 GAA, mayroong P4-plus billion pang natitira.

The question, Mr. President is when? When will we implement this landmark law kung saan tayo nagkaisa at pinasa ang nakapagandang batas na ito? Kailan?

When will our public universities and colleges provide free tuition and free miscellaneous expenses for the benefit of the students?

When will this landmark law be fully implemented in out country?

Pasado na ang batas. Napondohan na sa national budget at sapat na sapat ito.

Kailan makikinabang ang mga estudyante, ang mga pamilyang Pilipino; kailan po makikinabang ang taumbayan sa libreng kolehiyo sa ating bansa?

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Noong January 26, sinabi po ng CHED na sa Academic Year 2018-2019 pa raw ipapatupad ang libreng kolehiyo, which includes tuition and school fees.

Ngunit, Mr. President, noong bicameral conference, at marami sa atin ang nandoon, and this was chaired by Sen. Escudero, nagkasundo ang kumite na on the record, nilagay natin na ang intensiyon ng mambabatas ay kasama ang 2nd semester sa implementation ng batas.

Sa ating nakalaang 2018 budget, Mr. President, kasama po ang libreng tuition at miscellaneous fees ng kasalukuyang semester sa ating napondohan. Alam ho natin ito dahil kasama natin ang CHED.

Senator Legarda can attest to this. We worked with CHED to include the second semester and the language needed to include the current semester in the 2018 budget.

In short, Mr. President, wala tayong nakikitang funding or legal requirement kung bakit hindi sinasama ang current semester sa implementation ng ating batas. Hindi po pondo ang problema, hindi po legalities and problema, ang problema, hindi ito ipinatutupad ng CHED.

Mr. President, we witnessed this CHED employees and our LBRMO, through our office, worked together during the budget deliberations to ensure that the language of the budget provision allows for the fund to be used to cover tuition and other school fees for this current semester.

In short, napag-usapan poi to at binoto po natin ito when we passed the GAA.

So, Mr. President, ang tanong - kailan ba talaga natin ipapatupad ang batas?

When will our students and their families experience the financial relief of a free college education?

Mr. President, CHED says tomorrow. But with the sense of the Senate resolution signed by practically everybody here in the Senate, we say, yesterday! Yesterday, Mr. President, dapat napatupad na.

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Yesterday, Mr. President, I went through videos, photos and stories of students who dream of a college education and of course, the parents who work tirelessly to make it happen.

Na-meet ko Mr. President si Nanay Joana, isang microfinance beneficiary sa Batangas. Mr. President, pangarap niyang makapagtapos ng kolehiyo ang dalawa niyang anak kaya naman todo ang pagkayod ni Nanay Joana na nagtitinda ng samu't saring produkto, nangungutang para makapagbayad ng tuition at iba pang school fees para sa kanyang anak sa Batangas State University.

Nandoon po si Aling Susana ng Zambales. Siya'y mayroong apat na anak. Dalawa ang hindi na nakapagtuloy sa kolehiyo ngunit ang dalawa ay pursigido magtapos ng college.

Dalawang taon nang tumigil ang kaniyang pangatlong anak ng pag-aaral dahil sa kahirapan sa buhay. Sa dalawang taon pong iyon, nag-ipon ang pamilya, nagtiyaga sa pangingisda, pagtatanim at pagbebenta ng kanilang ani.

Dahil sa libreng tuition, nag-aral na ng automotive course sa Ramon Magsaysay Technological University ang kaniyang anak na lalaki na 21 years old. Ito ang pinakabata ngunit nahihirapan pa rin at kailangan pa rin ng ayuda para matustusan ang lahat ng gastos.

Naririyan din si Kuya Noli, isang security guard sa Iloilo. Noong nagpunta ako kung saan siya nagtatrabaho, nabanggit ko sa isang interview na magiging libre na ang kolehiyo. Sa kaniyang tuwa, napasigaw siya ng, "Buti na lang!" kasi mayroon siyang dalawang anak sa college.

Kahit nagtatrabaho siya bilang security at ang kanyang asawa ay labas-pasok bilang overseas Filipino, nahihirapan pa rin silang mabayaran ang gastos sa bahay at sa pag-aaral ng kanyang mga anak.

"Sa libreng tuition," sabi ni Kuya Noli, "magkakaroon na ng magandang kinabukasan ang mga anak namin at makakatulong rin sila sa aming pamilya."

Mr. President, umaasa po sina Nanay Joana, Aling Susana, Kuya Noli, at napakarami pang magulang sa kapangyarihan ng edukasyon.

Umaasa sila sa oportunidad na mabuksan ng isang college degree para sa kanilang anak ang isang mas magandang bukas.

Araw-araw, buwan-buwan, taon-taon, sila'y kumakayod upang matustusan ang gastos sa bahay at mapaaral ang kanilang mga anak.

Mr. President, kailangan nating tularan ang mga magulang na ito. Tulad po nila, pangalagahan natin ang edukasyon at manalig na ito'y isang mabisang solusyon upang matuldukan ang kahirapan sa ating bayan.

Tulad ng mga mabubuting magulang na iyan, gawin po natin ang lahat upang mapaaral ng kolehiyo ang ating mga kabataan.

Let's take inspiration from these stories, from the work that they put in, from the love that they give to their children, and countless Filipino families who work together, who exhaust all opportunities just to achieve a dream of prosperity.

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Mr. President and dear colleagues, on January 24, 2016, I delivered my sponsorship speech enjoining you to stand behind free college education in the Philippines. And of course, everybody responded.

This, Mr. President, if I'm not mistaken is still one of our priority bills in the 17th Congress. Many of us, Mr. President, took a stand and said we will pass free college education in the Philippines. Today, with the sense of the Senate, we take another stand to say that we want this implemented right now. Ngayon na po.

Mr. President, with my co-authors who I'd like to thank again -- Senators Recto, Villanueva, Ejercito, Gatchalian, Pangilinan, Angara, Legarda, De Lima, Villar, Zubiri, Gordon and of course Senators Lacson and Legarda for the first budget allocation in 2017.

I would like to thank everyone from getting behind the sense of the Senate and to show our country that we stand behind our students who wish to get free education.

We stand especially for the parents and the breadwinners who worked non-stop so that their children can achieve their dreams.

I call on all of us to unite and demand for the full implementation of RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.