Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino today called on the government to immediately act on demands to substantially increase workers’ wages following its approval of another round of tuition rates which are expected to result in more drop-outs and out-of-school youths.
“With the government increasing once more the already burdensome cost of education through its easy approval of tuition hike petitions, calls for a substantial pay hike should be given paramount consideration in order for workers to continue sending their children to school and to be able to cope with the grueling demands of every living,” said Palatino.
The Commission on Higher Education recently approved applications for higher tuition rates for at least 222 private colleges and universities nationwide (as of April 26, 2012). Out of 2,181 private higher education institutions in the country, CHEd approved an average of 10 percent or P41.52 increase in tuition for these private schools. The said number could still rise to 256, as CHEd National Capital Region has yet to process tuition hike applications from schools in Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education has already given the go signal to at least 120 private school in Metro Manila to increase their tuition for the incoming school year.
“While the additional P125 that the workers have been demanding remains insufficient to address families’ basic needs, the amount could at very least help them cope with the onslaught of tuition hikes and price increases that have unfortunately become a regular feature in the administration of Noynoy Aquino,” the youth solon said.
According to CHEd, the national average tuition per unit for academic year 2012-2013 will increase by P41.52, to P475.47 per unit from the current P433.95 average per unit.
“The figures clearly indicate that the average cost of tuition is even higher than the current P424 minimum wage. The yearly tuition hikes are forcing minimum wage earners and low income families to make education less of a priority,” he said.
The 2009 Family Income and Expenditure Survey shows that education continues to be one of the top expenses of families, averaging at around 4.2 percent for all income classes. However, in the lower income brackets, expenses for education were only at 1.0 percent for families earning less than 40,000.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission estimates that a family of six needs roughly P957 per day for basic expenses alone. “With the glaring difference between the amount needed to send a family member to school and the wages that workers receive, going to school becomes a privilege enjoyed only by those who can afford it,” he said.
In press reports, CHEd Chairperson Patricia Licuanan defended the new spate of tuition hikes, saying that private colleges are “under pressure to increase tuition because of increasing costs at a difficult time.” The party-list lawmaker, however, said “it is infuriating how the increasing costs of commodities and services are being used to justify the quick approval of these ridiculous tuition hikes while on the other hand, the same justification aren’t enough for the government to act on petitions for substantial wage hikes.”
“It leads me to wonder if these bureaucrats are appointed in the correct offices. The restraint and rigidness exercised by wage boards in granting petitions for wage hikes are a far cry from the liberality and leniency displayed by our education agencies when succumbing to the demands of private educators,” the lawmaker lamented.
He added: “When the government talks of a ‘difficult time’ experienced by Filipinos, is it only referring to the conditions faced by businesses rather than the plight of ordinary citizens? In the real world, the workers and their families are the ones having that real difficult time due to the evils of social inequality and poverty. And the government is making it even more difficult by refusing to regulate the the prices of commodities and services.”
In Congress, Palatino is pushing for the passage into law of his two tuition and other fee bills, namely HB no. 3708 or the “Three-year Tuition Moratorium Act” and HB no. 4286 or the “Tuition and Other Fees Regulation Act.”
“A tuition moratorium, more than providing a pause for thought to regulate tuition increase will provide immediate economic relief to students and parents especially in the context of the unabated price increases and the unjust imposition of fee increases in schools,” Palatino said.
The youth solon is also a co-author of HB no. 375 which seeks to provide for a P125 daily across-the-board increase in the salary rates of employees and workers in the private sector.
With the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) administration already beginning the collection of three new compulsory fees, youth group Kabataan Partylist (KPL) and PUP students staged a noise barrage and picket protest near the PUP Amphitheater at 11 a.m. today to call on the PUP administration to halt the implementation of the said fees.
“At a time when the price of basic commodities are rising to epic proportions, it is not justifiable to impose new compulsory fees for students, especially in PUP, where majority of students come from working and peasant class families greatly afflicted by the crisis,” said KPL Secretary General Vencer Crisostomo.
Students queuing for payment have marked their registration forms with “paid under protest,” as other student formations arranged noise barrages throughout the PUP Mabini campus.
Following suit with the wave of tuition and other fee increases set to be implemented by almost 300 higher education institutions in the country next semester, the PUP administration is now charging new miscellaneous fees for incoming freshmen, said Raven Desposado, president of the PUP Central Student Council.
Upon enrolment, incoming freshmen are required to pay P150 for the medical examination fee and P305 for a set of Physical Education (PE) uniforms. Meanwhile, all PUP students who would enroll in the National Service Training Program (NSTP), on-the-job training courses, and PE subjects will be charged a compulsory P35 “accidental insurance fee.”
Before this planned compulsory payment, the said fees were optional for all students, Desposado explained, adding that the three fees have not yet been approved by the PUP Board of Regents formally, and yet has been already included in the fees being collected in the enrolment for the first semester of school year 2012-2013 that began last May 16.
“The PUP administration railroaded the implementation of the new fees to extract more money from students in the light of the continuing decline of government funding,” said Desposado. According to the 2012 General Appropriations Act, PUP is set to receive only P724.78 million this year as government subsidy, while it actually needs P2 billion annually to sustain its operations fully.
With the addition of the three new fees, the total miscellaneous fee in PUP has become higher than the tuition students pay. At P12 per unit, PUP remains to be one of the few state universities that have affordable tuition rates. However, with the new fees, a student enrolling for a regular 24-unit load will pay over P1,500 for miscellaneous fees, while only paying P288 for tuition, for a total of over P1,800.
“Even if there is no impending tuition increase, the imposition of new compulsory fees is, in essence, a devious way of increasing fees,” Crisostomo said.
“We challenge the PUP administration to withdraw these compulsory fees and maintain PUP’s character as a university of the masses. Charging dubious fee increases are only stop-gap measures that cannot replace the need for greater state subsidy,” Crisostomo said.#
Banners. Streamers. Billboards. TV Ads. More than a year into the 2013 elections, we already see politicians and possible candidates engaging in premature campaigning. Youth group Kabataan Party-list, however, appealed to politicians and political parties to first direct their energies and resources towards two important aspects of the elections—voter registration and voter education.
Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond Palatino made the plea amid the buzz on the forging of new political alliances and on possible contenders for both national and local posts up for grabs in the 2013 polls.
“The political noise and speculation about who’s who in the coming elections is drawing attention away from the more important issue of enjoining more and more youths to participate in the important process of electing our next set of leaders. Instead of early electioneering, politicians can do the public more good if they help in voter registration and voter education activities conducted by Comelec and non-government organizations,” he said.
The Kabataan solon furthered: “Politicians are hell-bent on making their presence felt through various political propaganda this early on but all these would amount to nothing if a large number of Filipinos, especially the youth, are disenfranchised and powerless in deciding whether to elect or turn them down. The youth sector will be a major player in the next elections, and their utmost participation and support could spell either victory or defeat for these politicos. It is only incumbent upon political parties to acknowledge the voice of the youth, urge them to register, and provide them with a clear youth agenda for the 2013 polls.”
The Kabataan solon, however, warned that these voter registration and education activities should not be another venue for early campaigning.
Meanwhile, Kabataan Partylist is also urging first time voters, especially youths and students, to take advantage of the summer vacation and register to vote for the 2013 polls.
Palatino said youths and new registrants should not wait for the last minute to register as they could risk the chance of being able to participate in the next elections. “This summer vacation is the perfect opportunity especially for students to register as they are not preocuppied with school work. Let us not waste any more time, magparehistro na ang dapat magparehistro,” said Palatino.
Palatino said “young Filipinos hungry for social change must remain active and unrelenting in pushing for drastic changes in our political system. They must not miss the elections as one of the many opportunities wherein they can register their collective voice that says ‘enough with old-age and clan politics’. Albeit dominated by elite and traditional politicians, this arena must not be left at their hands while marginalized sectors such as the youth remain as mere spectators in the sidelines,” he said.
The COMELEC has set the period for the resumption of the system of continuing registration within the following dates:
Kabataan Partylist denounced the “extreme police brutality” in the planned demolition in Silverio Compound, Sucat, Parañaque City yesterday, which left at least one minor dead and over 39 people injured, two of which are minors with gunshot wounds.
“As residents defend their constitutional right to proper housing, the government through its repressive police force answers back with such impunity and brutality that even minors are shot and killed in broad daylight,” said Kabataan Partylist Secretary General Vencer Crisostomo.
Over a thousand residents gathered in Sucat Road early yesterday to barricade against demolition teams that are set to tear down portions of the compound following a demolition order released by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court.
The 9.7-hectare Silverio Compound is home to around 25,000 to 28,000 families that are in danger of losing their homes due to the reported construction of condominiums by Henry Sy’s SM Development Corporation (SMDC).
By 10 a.m., a dozen riot policemen arrived on the scene armed with high-caliber guns and truncheons, ready to crush the human barricade. As the riot police made contact with the residents, conflict began between the opposing sides, as the police threw tear gas cannisters to the protesters and hit them with truncheons.
The residents retaliated by throwing rocks and other projectiles to the surging police force. However, a little before 12 p.m., the police started open firing at the residents, leaving dozens of residents hurt and Arnel Leonor, 21, dead.
“This is what the Aquino administration brandishes as change – a more brutal police force that seemingly has no regard for the life and rights of citizens. Instead of preserving peace and order, the Parañaque police have shown that they are merciless henchmen of filthy-rich businessmen like Henry Sy,” Crisostomo said.
“With the Aquino administration’s utter lack of concern for the urban poor, residents forced out of their homes have no choice but to join together and fight. In this incident, it is apparent that instead of choosing to side with the poor residents, the government has opted to decisively defend the interests of rich tycoons like Henry Sy,” Crisostomo added.
Most residents in Silverio compound have also been victims of forced demolitions in other parts of Metro Manila. “In the end, the urban poor become wanderers forced to move from one place to another due to the government’s inability to provide stable relocation sites,” Crisostomo said.
For 2012, Aquino added P10 billion for housing services. However, the said budget is not enough to provide decent relocations to residents that are near their occupation and their children’s schools, Crisostomo explained.
Right to Defend
Silverio Compound is subject of an expropriation deal wagered by the Parañaque City government, wherein the whole lot was purchased by the government for the residents occupying it.
In various media interviews, Parañaque Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. denied that the government is planning to sell the property to SMDC and reiterated that the demolition is to give way to the development of medium-rise housing units for the residents of Silverio Compound.
“It is highly ironic that the Parañaque government claims that all these brutalities are for the benefit of the residents of Silverio. If not for profit and the influence of big businesses like SM, why does the police need to fire indiscriminately at residents?” Crisostomo asked.
“What is apparent here is that the Silverio Compound residents are fighting for their homes, and as they assert their constitutional rights, government forces try hard to silence them, going even as far as killing them in order to do so,” Crisostomo added.
“We call on the Aquino administration, the PNP, and the local administration of Parañaque to not only investigate this bloody melee but also to put an end to such vicious and merciless acts that instill fear among residents who are just asserting their rights,” Crisostomo ends.#
With the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) recent approval of higher tuition rates for 222 private colleges and universities nationwide, more college students are expected to drop out of school this coming academic year, according to Kabataan Partylist.
Out of 2,181 private higher education institutions in the country, CHEd approved an average of 10 percent or P41.52 increase in tuition for 222 private schools. The said number could still rise to 256, as CHEd National Capital Region has yet to process tuition hike applications from schools in Metro Manila.
“With this new wave of tuition hikes, it is not unlikely that more students will be forced to stop schooling due to financial constraints,” said Kabataan Partylist Secretary General Vencer Crisostomo.
With the rising cost of education, government figures reveal that for every 100 students who enter Grade 1, only 66 finish Grade 6, while only 43 will be able to finish high school. Of this number, only 23 will be able to continue studying at the tertiary level and only 14 will graduate.
“Coupled with the worsening economic crisis and widening joblessness in the country, tuition hikes definitely translate to more out-of-school youth,” Crisostomo added.
Near-impossible rates
According to CHEd, the national average tuition per unit for academic year 2012-2013 will increase by P41.52, to P475.47 per unit from the current P433.95 average per unit.
“The figures reveal that the current cost of education at the tertiary level is even higher than the current P424 minimum wage. At this rate, minimum wage earners wanting to send their children to college would need to work for more than a month just to save enough money to pay for a semester’s worth of tuition. And that’s if you discount the daily family expenses for food and other basic needs,” Crisostomo said.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission estimates that a family of six needs roughly P957 per day for basic expenses alone. “With these figures alone, we can clearly see that for majority of minimum-wage earning families, it is close to impossible to send their children to college,” Crisostomo said.
Under pressure?
“What is alarming is that CHEd itself is claiming that it cannot do anything to stop the increases. Instead of protecting the welfare of students, CHEd serves as a rubber stamp and a paper tiger that passively approves most of the tuition hike proposals that go under its nose,” Crisostomo said.
In press reports, CHEd Chairperson Patricia Licuanan defended the new spate of tuition hikes, saying that private colleges are “under pressure to increase tuition because of increasing costs at a difficult time.” Licuanan explained that CHEd’s hands are tied by such laws as the Education Act of 1982, which allows private schools to determine their tuition rates by themselves.
“It is again becoming apparent how the Aquino administration is siding with school administrators instead of protecting the students’ welfare. True, there is a crisis ravaging the country, but the most affected sector of society are not the school administrators, but the families of students who toil day and night to earn enough money for three square meals a day,” Crisostomo said.
In fact, Crisostomo pointed out, several private universities such as Far Eastern University and Centro Escolar University even earn millions in profit annually. “Is it too much to ask school administrators to cut back a little on their income and not pass the burden of increasing operating costs to students?” Crisostomo asked.
“We are again witnessing how inutile our government is in protecting the interest of the masses. We have seen the government fail in oil price hikes. We have seen them play deaf on budget cuts in social services. And now, they are again turning a blind eye to the worsening state of education in the country,” Crisostomo said.
“We challenge the Aquino administration to act upon this recent wave of tuition hikes, and scrap anti-student laws such as the Education Act of 1982. Instead of approving tuition hikes, the government should impose a moratorium on tuition increases in light of the worsening economic crisis,” Crisostomo added.#