A day after sponsoring them on the Senate floor, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday, June 4 successfully defended four bills establishing new and upgrading existing state colleges in various provinces.
With some committee amendments introduced by Cayetano, the Senate unanimously approved on Second Reading the following measures:
– Senate Bill No. 916 – Establishing the province of Sarangani’s first state college, the Sarangani State College
– House Bill No. 10405 – Establishing the province of Dinagat Islands’ first state college, the Dinagat Islands State College
– House Bill No. 9314 – Converting the Baao Community College in Camarines Sur into a state-run institution to be known as the Rinconada State College
– House Bill No. 9642 – Converting the Aurora State College of Technology into a state university, to be known as the Aurora State University of Science and Technology
These measures now move closer to final approval by the Senate.
Cayetano, chair of the Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, said expanding the number of state colleges and universities (SUCs) in the provinces will help address overcrowding and provide students with better options that suit their talents.
“Most of our state universities, ang problema ay overcrowded. The net effect of having more local state universities ay y’ung iba made-decongest, and not having to leave your province,” he said during the interpellation period.
“[And] if you have more state universities with different courses, better matching sa students,” he added.
The senator also assured his colleagues of the readiness and compliance of these schools with the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) requirements.
“Dumadaan talaga ‘to sa CHED, tapos they (schools) have to comply. We (the Committee) don’t bring them to the floor for plenary action unless they comply,” he said.
_*Higher education reforms*_
Cayetano urged the future administrators of the Sarangani and Dinagat Islands state colleges to appoint their school presidents early to help oversee planning and implementation.
“Dapat hindi mo hintayin matapos lahat, tsaka ka lang mag-eelect ng pangulo d’yan. Mag-elect tayo ng pangulo d’yan na magpapatakbo niyan [para] kasama siya sa pagpaplano ng pagpapagawa,” he said.
He also reiterated his call on the administration and his fellow lawmakers to increase funding for SUCs to ensure they are equipped to effectively carry out their mandates.
Under the 2025 national budget, SUCs suffered more than a P5-billion budget cut.
The bills state that the budgets for the new and upgraded schools will be drawn from the annual national budget, which is decided yearly by Congress.
Despite budget concerns, senators expressed full support for the measures.
“We are in total support of these measures which hopefully under CHED’s strict supervision, quality education will be made more accessible,” Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said.
The four bills are expected to be approved on Third and Final Reading in the coming session days.
