UP has unveiled an ambitious P36.5-billion budget for 2022 to fund big-ticket infrastructure, workers’ regularization, and other investments. But it is also a proposal that various sectors say is notable for what it does not include: greater students’ assistance and better workers’ benefits in the time of the pandemic.

The UP administration plans to spend P15.6 billion for workers’ salaries, wages, and compensation. Another P9.3 billion would go to support UP’s daily operations like electricity, while P11.5 billion would go to infrastructure. Under this proposal, the UP Philippine General Hospital (PGH) would get around P8.6 billion.

Nothing in UP’s budget is final. UP has only proposed this budget to President Rodrigo Duterte who will then submit his own proposal to Congress. It is then up to Congress to decide how much UP would receive next year.

But if past proposals are any indication, deep budget cuts are expected.

For one, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under the Duterte administration has set UP’s budget ceiling to just P20.7 billion for personnel and operations expenses. Budget for salaries and other related expenses is capped at P14.8 billion, while the budget for daily operations and maintenance is set at the maximum of P5.8 billion.

From 2017 to 2021, Duterte has also slashed UP’s budget by an average half of the UP administration’s original proposal (see sidebar 1). In 2021, about P7 billion of its proposed P28.5 billion budget was not approved supposedly due to limited fiscal resources.

“Hindi tayo satisfied na mas maliit yung budget na hinihingi ni UP given na mas maraming mga constituents ang in need,” Student Regent (SR) Renee Co said, noting that UP’s budget proposals before the pandemic were larger. “All in all, dapat at least hindi bumaba, hindi mukhang normal lang ‘yung operations ng UP.”

Additional Requests for Infra, Regularization

If its budget is approved, UP would be on infrastructure spending binge, proposing 76 infrastructure and equipment projects across its campuses and PGH. Among these projects include the construction of the Balay Atleta (P500 million), the National Institutes of Health in UP Manila (P1 billion), and the Product Design Building in UP Cebu (P400 million). 

But it remains to be seen which projects would be funded. Out of all the projects in UP’s wish list, 14 were already proposed for 2021 but these were rejected by Duterte (see sidebar 2).

Aside from spending big on infrastructure and equipment, UP proposed to pour in money for the faculty, staff, and workers’ salaries and benefits. It wants to provide honoraria and allowances for contractual workers, retirement gratuity, and terminal leave benefits. UP also wants to have an ample budget to implement the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers.

The most notable item in the university’s proposal is its initiative to regularize contractual UP workers. UP plans to use P2.2 billion to create 2,007 new permanent positions.

Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia said UP proposed this to keep the university’s highly trained and capable contractual employees.

But this item is still up to Duterte, who last year rejected UP’s proposal to create 2,004 new items.

Lastly, the remaining 26 percent of the budget is intended to pay for UP’s maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE). PGH will get the highest share of this extra MOOE request, amounting to around P1.7 billion aimed to expand the hospital’s services (P1.3 billion) and fund repairs and maintenance (P200 million).

Missed Priorities

Co welcomes UP’s initiatives to build the university’s infrastructure and support workers’ tenure, but decries the administration’s failure to prioritize more pressing demands of students, faculty, staff, and the larger UP community to respond to the ongoing pandemic.

This is the same case with remote learning aid. The student regent noted that the university is relying on donations to fund its remote learning aid like Kaagapay UP and some components of the Student Learning Assistance System (SLAS). To possibly expand these programs and reach more students in need, capital infusion from the national government may be needed, Co said.

UP estimates that at least 5,600 students are in need of learning aid. It would cost around P50,000, according to UP, to help a student’s gadget and internet needs for one academic year. In total, at least P280 million will be needed to subsidize the education of these students—an amount largely financed by donations.

However, it is not just the students who are being shortchanged.

According to Co, the sectoral regents initially put forward a proposal to expand sick leave and retirement benefits of UP workers severely affected by the pandemic. The UP Board of Regents, however, dumped the proposal as the administration said it could only afford to fund the said measure for two years. The board is set to revisit the proposal later this month.

“The workers and teachers are asking for added benefits and rather than UP hear out yung ganung concerns, hindi ito pinapasok sa budget, hindi pinag-uusapan yung pagpasok nito sa budget o yung pag-request nito,” Co said.

Other stakeholders of the university are also criticizing the UP administration’s priorities. 

For 2022, UP proposed to allot P100 million to relocate “informal settlers” who are living in UP’s lands. However, the UP administration has failed to respond to campus residents’ plea for a clear relocation plan should UP push through with its rapid infrastructure expansion, said Ajay Lagrimas, the community rights and welfare councilor of the University Student Council.

Lagrimas said that affected residents were not consulted when UP proposed the P100 million budget for relocation.

“Ang mga bahay na paglilipatan ay dapat makatao at may dangal. Ibig sabihin, may sariling linya ng tubig at kuryente, at hindi gawa sa mga materyales na madaling masira,” Lagrimas said, adding that this relocation must be permanent. “Hindi dapat napasailalim ang mga [residente] sites sa paulit-ulit na relokasyon.”

But the fight does not end with UP’s proposal, Co said. The UP community has successfully used the Congressional budget deliberations to stave off impending budget cuts, the most recent of which was in 2019.

“Nasa footing naman tayong gusto nating mangyari ay masuportahan ng UP admin ‘yung mga student … [kasama ang] UP community,” Co said. “At dapat mag-reflect ito sa hinihingi nila na budget.” ● 

With contributed reports from Kent Ivan Florino.