Students protesting budget cuts disrupt PNoy visit to technohub

Students protesting budget cuts for state colleges and universities (SUCs) gave disrupted President Benigno Simeon Aquino III's visit to the University of the Philippines-Ayala Technohub in Quezon City. Radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported that the students engaged anti-riot police in a shoving match, disrupting traffic along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. No one was reported injured in the confrontation. The report said the students prevented Aquino's convoy from entering the Technohub, where Aquino had an official engagement. A separate report by dzBB's Tuesday Niu said Aquino's convoy entered the compound through an alternate route. Earlier, UP students walked out of their classes to protest the budget cut. In Manila, students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines also walked out of their classes to protest against the budget cuts. The students had planned a rally at the Senate to call for an additional budget for SUCs for 2011. The UP is one of the state-run colleges affected by a supposed budget cut for 2011. The UP Ayala Land TechnoHub, where Aquino has an official engagement, is an information and technology park. This economic zone is located in Barangay UP Campus near Philcoa in Quezon City, along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. Reduced subsidy for SUCs Aquino earlier said in his 2011 budget message to Congress in August that "We allocated P23.4 billion to 112 State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in 2011. This is 1.7 percent lower than the P23.8 billion budget for 2010." "We are gradually reducing the subsidy to SUCs to push them toward becoming self-sufficient and financially independent, given their ability to raise their [own] income," Aquino added. Aquino said the executive branch only lowered the budget for SUCs like UP because the country's premier state university has other sources of funds, such as tuition hikes and tie-ups with private corporations such as the UP-Ayala Technohub. – VVP, GMANews.TV