The Commission on Higher Education on Monday appealed to the Department of Budget and Management spare them from the non-release of 35 percent of its 2020 budget for state universities and colleges.
CHEd chairperson Prospero de Vera said the DBM has issued a circular mandating all government agencies "for their activities" that it could only release 65 percent of their respective budget allocation as a measure to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
"That's why I wrote and appeal to the DBM to exempt us for the sake of Republic Act 10931," he said.
With a 35 percent hold on CHEd's budget, indigent students of SUCs would be badly affected over CHEd's expected failure to reimburse the tuition and miscellaneous fees to SUCs, he said.
Such would also lower the income of SUCS for the maintenance of their facilities, and wages of their contractual and job order employees, he said.