Basic education first before SUCs, Aquino tells protesters

BAGUIO CITY (Updated 11:01 p.m.) - President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Friday appealed for understanding from students who are protesting the lower budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs), saying his administration's priority is basic education. Aquino issued the appeal after attending the opening program for a fastfood restaurant in Baguio City, which was picketed by a handful of protesters from the militant groups Anakbayan and Gabriela. (See: PNoy opens 700th branch of his ‘campaign food provider’) He explained that the budget for SUCs, particularly for the University of the Philippines, was lower only because the government allocated much bigger funds to basic education. "Sana, estudyante sila, pag-aralan nila kung ano yung sitwasyon (They are students, so I hope they'll study the situation)," Aquino told reporters after the event. "Umpisahan mo ano priority, basic ed. Basic ed 'wag na tayong gumawa ng problema para hindi mo iko-correct sa high school at sa college. So kelangan mo maglaan ng pondo dun," he said. (Start with the priority, basic ed. Let's not create problems in basic ed so we won't have to make corrections in high school and college. You have to allot funds for that.) The proposed overall budget for education next year – including the budget for basic education that includes elementary and high school – rose by 12.92 percent. From the P240.58 billion allotted for this year, the budget was increased to P271.67 billion for 2011. The budget for the UP system, however, went down from P6.9 billion in 2010 to the proposed P5.5 billion for 2011. Student protesters clash with cops About 30 students from SUCs in Baguio City staged a street protest before President Aquino started his speech during the opening program of the restaurant. “Kailanman ay hindi dapat sinisikil ng estado ang karapatan para sa tertiary education, [The state should never restrict the right to tertiary education]" one of the student protesters shouted while the President was delivering his speech. The protest prompted local police and members of the Presidential Security Group to confiscate the students’ placards and to try to herd them away from the venue. The ensuing skirmish between protesters and law enforcers resulted in rough handling, with a policeman shown on television pulling briefly on the hair of at least one female student. The protesters eventually dispersed after the confrontation. Dialogues Aquino reiterated that the executive branch lowered the budget for UP because the country's premier state university has other sources of funds, such as the UP-Ayala Technohub. "Siguro kelangan naman ng konting pag-unawa. Hindi sa tinanggalan sila ng kakayahan matugunan yung kanilang pangangailangan. Nandun eh," he said. (Perhaps there is a need for more understanding. We did not take away from them the means to respond to their needs. The means are there.) Aquino said he would ask the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to hold dialogues with the protesters to explain the matter. "Siguro baka dapat ho atasan natin si Patty Licuanan ng CHED, isa-isahin, magsama tayo ng mga teams from government to help them identify the other sources of funds to make sure they will be at the same level, if not higher," said the president. Aquino said the government "will explain to the people who are willing to listen." On Thursday, some 5,000 students from UP Diliman and UP Manila staged walkouts in protest of the lower budget. Protest leaders said some members of the faculty and UP community expressed support for their "strike." In UP Diliman in Quezon City, around 3,000 protesting students set up a barricade along the University Avenue, blocking off the main entrance to the campus. After a march around the academic oval, which spans nearly the full length of the campus, the students moved to Palma Hall to hold a program as part of the daylong strike. The protest forced jeepneys and other vehicles to take alternative routes. A simultaneous strike was also held at the UP Manila campus in Padre Faura, where Senator Alan Peter Cayetano dropped by to give a message of support to some 2,000 students denouncing the budget cuts in the education sector. – With Andreo C. Calonzo/VVP/JV, GMANews.TV