MANILA – The House Committee on Appropriations pledged to work with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) to address funding deficiencies in higher education and their underlying causes.

Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Angela B. Suansing made the commitment during the Affirmation of Compliance and Commitment to Settle the Free Higher Education Deficiency at Andaya Hall.

Suansing said the government aims to maximize the Higher Education Development Fund and ensure that funding allocations reflect the actual needs of SUCs.

“We landed at PhP 12.3 billion, split across PhP 7.8 billion from the Higher Education Development Fund augmented with PhP 4.49 billion from the General Appropriations Act,” Suansing said.

She said the House would work with CHED, DBM, PASUC, and SUCs to determine the causes of recurring funding gaps, including discrepancies between projected and actual enrollment and utilization.

“The House leadership, headed by our Speaker Bojie Dy, Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, and yours truly, will work together to continue finding ways to figure out and address what is really causing these deficiencies,” she said.

“We are working with CHED, DBM, and PASUC and all our SUCs because I know that there is a fundamental issue with the formula. There is a discrepancy between the estimates and the actual enrollment and utilization of different universities.”

Suansing said the goal is to prevent SUCs from having to seek additional funding to cover deficiencies every year.

“Ayaw ko naman po na every year naghahabol tayo, every year, may deficiency, and every year we need to bridge it for the following year,” she said.

“We would like to reaffirm our commitment to our SUCs. Rest assured that that’s what we are working on, hoping that moving forward, we will be able to address that.”

Suansing, who said she was once a government scholar, also cited her personal experience in explaining her commitment to the issue.

“Bilang naging iskolar din po ng bayan, na nagpaaral po sa akin ay ang ating gobyerno, I want to give back to our country, to our students,” she said.

“I always say that the foundation that I got from our government education institutions, from our systems here, is what propelled me forward, so I will always be indebted to the Philippine government education system for molding me into the person I am today,” she said.

She assured SUCs and students that the House would continue working with education agencies to strengthen funding mechanisms and ensure institutions receive the resources they need.

“Kasama niyo po ako. We will make it happen, and we will be able to deliver the best education we can for our students,” she said.

Also present were House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III, House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos, CHED Chairperson Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis, Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand “Dinand” Hernandez, and other House and education sector officials.