Members of the minority and majority bloc in the Senate toe the line to support a landmark legislation that would benefit over five-million Filipino students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) beginning the second semester of school year 2017-18.
Senators Bam Aquino and Sherwin Gatchalian said that they are hoping that by November or the second semester, tuition fees and other regular fees in SUCs would be free.
The bicameral conference report of Senate Bill 1304 and House Bill 5633, now known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, was ratified by the Senate last Tuesday.
After the House similarly ratifies the report, the enrolled bill will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterre for signature into law.
Aquino disclosed that during the bicam, they agreed that the new law should take effect by the second semester of school year 2017-2018.
"By the time that it would be publish and became a law, enrollment in the first semester was over," said Aquino, the principal sponsor and co-author of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in the Senate.
As one of its major salient points, the measure prohibits SUCs from collecting other fees from students, making tertiary education totally free for underprivileged students.
If enacted into law, it will institutionalize free tuition and other fees in SUCs and LUCs all over the country, giving underprivileged students a chance to earn a college degree.
“Once this becomes a law, it will be a state policy that tertiary level education is free in our SUCs and LUCs," said Aquino, who defended the measure in plenary debates and interpellation during his stint as chairman of the Committee on Education.
Aquino was also the co-chairman of the Senate delegation to the bicameral conference committee, together with new Committee on Education chairman Sen. Francis Escudero. Other members of the Senate panel are Sens. Sherwin Gatchalian and Ralph Recto.
The measure will also make scholarship grants available to students of both public and private college and universities.
Aquino added that it will also streamline and strengthen all student financial assistance program, making it available to students who want to pursue higher education in private institutions, as well as subsidizing other expenses of SUC students.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian said the free education policy is a critical building block for long-term inclusive economic growth. He emphasized that investing in intensive human capital development is key to fostering innovation, increasing economic productivity, and alleviating poverty through the dignity of work.
"The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act is a key stepping stone toward achieving the Philippines' ambitious long-term economic vision under the Ambisyon Natin 2040 plan," added Gatchalian, who is also the chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs.