Krisis Issue 2 AY 15-16

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TUE 29 SEPTEMBER 2015 ISSUE 2 A.Y. 2015 - 2016 KRISIS presents UPJC’s take on the Philippine situation via news articles, news analyses, editorials and feature articles on current political issues.

Krisis

THE UP BUDGET ISSUE

Read the online version at issuu.com/upjournalismclub.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE UP JOURNALISM CLUB NEGOSYO O KALAYAAN.

UP students stage a two-day walkout rally on September 23 and 24 against the P2.2 billion cut in the proposed 2016 budget, the biggest under the Aquino administration.

Photo by Yves Briones/UPJC.

Students protest against P2.2 B budget slash Stronger opposition needed as UP faces its biggest budget cut so far by Christian Venus and Jenele Mane

DBM rebuts budget cut Office says money is only realigned, not decreased by Christian Venus, Arianne Tapao and Rose Anne Solo

Source:

Department of Budget and Management, 2015

2016 UP BUDGET

Allocation of the 2016 UP Budget

PHP 13.4B

There are no budget cuts for the University of the Philippines (UP) system, a Department of Budget and Management (DBM) administrator said. In a forum held Thursday, DBM National Capital Region director Ruby Esteban said the missing P2.2 billion from the proposed 2016 UP budget was just realigned under other sectors which, when totaled, is almost equal to the 2015 budget. “Some parts of the budget are simply

lodged in other agencies, but they’re still specific for the university’s use,” she said in Filipino. Prior to the forum, President Pascual said in an interview with Rappler that the decrease in the 2016 budget was due to completion of PGH modernization. According to the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA), P3.15 billion was allocated to UP-PGH for the “acquisition and upgrading of various hospital equipment”. When asked about the disbursement of the P3.15 billion fund, UP Vice President for Planning and Finance Joselito Florendo said it has not yet been used because of PGH’s strict screening process. PGH has “to go through the specifications one by one...we have a procurement law to follow and its rules are strict,” Florendo said. REGULAR BUDGET PHP 11,465,102 DPWH PHP 712,000 DOST E-GOV FUND PHP 100,000 PHP 600,000 REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

PHP 342,138

MISC. AND PERSONAL BENEFIT FUNDS

PHP 205,570

Esteban said in determining UP’s annual budget, DBM considers revenues from tuition fees, other school fees, UP land leases and other income-generating projects which form the Special Trust Fund (STF) which is around P12 billion as of 2014. “[State universities and colleges] are actually lucky because they are able to earn income, keep and utilize it and dispose of it in any way they can,” Esteban said. However, a student leader said the continuous decrease in UP’s annual budget only increases the university’s reliance on commercialization schemes and income-generating projects. “They slashed the budget and pushed the university to resort to commercialization and profiteering schemes. They use the students for profit, through the Socialized Tuition Scheme, for one,” University Student Council (USC) councilor Bryle Leaño said in Filipino. The Balitaktakan forum organized by the USC may see a second part with members of the UP Board of Regents as speakers, Chairperson JP Delas Nieves said. The highest policy-making body of the university, the BOR drafts UP budget proposals.

Students denounced the proposed P2.2 billion cut for the University of the Philippines System’s 2016 budget as they walked out of their classes on Sept. 23 and 24. The Department of Budget and Management allotted P11.5 billion for the university in its 2016 budget proposal, down from last year’s P13.7 billion. Student Regent Mico Pangalangan said President Alfredo Pascual denied the existence of any budget cut and said the P 2.2 billion budget reduction in capital outlay was because of the completion of the PGH modernization program. “From President Pascual, it is clear that we will not fight against the budget cut because as he sees it, there is no such thing as a budget cut,” said Pangalangan. Department of Budget and Management National Capital Region director Ruby Esteban said in a Sept. 24 that part of the budget was realigned to other sectors, making it almost equal to last year’s P13.7 billion budget. Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights (STAND UP) chairperson Menchani Tilendo said mobilizations helped decrease the cut from the proposed P 1.43 billion for the 2010-2011 budget the highest in history during that time. More or less 5,000 students organized then, and Tilendo added that with the larger proposed budget cut, the call for numbers to oppose is greater now. “We’re not mounting protest actions just for the sake of making noise. It’s also a form of pressure to the administration because they won’t be giving us our free tuition if we keep

PROTEST

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Krisis Issue 2 AY 15-16 by UP Journalism Club - Issuu