UP would have its budget increase by more than P2.8 billion this year, staving off a P1.3-billion budget cut that was proposed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) last year.
The university’s budget, however, was still a third short of what UP proposed in the first place. The university’s approved budget, nonetheless, would continue to fund ongoing construction or renovation projects whose funding will run out this year.
Some of the programs funded by the budget were the second phases of the Palma Hall renovation (P50 million), construction of Balay Atleta (P100 million), UP Diliman football stadium (P30 million), and building for the School of Library and Information Studies (P50 million).
For 2022, UP’s total budget is P24.4 billion, up from last year’s P21.5 billion. Of that amount, over half or close to P13.9 billion would fund workers’ salaries and compensation. Another P7.9 billion, meanwhile, to support UP’s daily operations like payment of utilities, while P2.6 billion is for infrastructure projects.
Notably, Congress has given over P31.6 million for “operationalization of face-to-face classes.” This amount is on top of the P100 million given in the 2021 budget “that is allotted for minor construction works such as retrofitting of classrooms, laboratories and other buildings in the university,” said Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia in an email to the Collegian last year.
Pernia also added that the budget for limited physical classes will also be sourced from UP’s savings and other income over the past years. Duterte, meanwhile, has also signed a law extending the validity of the 2021 budget until the end of 2022. This would allow the university to spend whatever is left of its budget last year.
The UP Philippine General Hospital (PGH), on the other hand, would still suffer a P500-million budget cut, though the bulk of the cut is due to the lower infrastructure budget of the hospital from last year. Funding for the hospital workers’ salary, and the hospital’s utilities were virtually unchanged compared with last year.
Meanwhile, in a bid to expand the PGH’s capacity to absorb more COVID-19 patients, the budget has allocated P41.4 million to purchase various ventilators. Ventilators are typically used for critical COVID-19 cases. A fire protection system costing P90 million was also allocated, a much-needed addition after a fire gutted part of the PGH way back in May 2021.
The DBM initially proposed a P1.2-billion budget cut for PGH. But during the budget deliberations in the lower house last year, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said he will offer an amendment to the DBM’s budget bill to increase the hospital’s budget to avert the budget cut.
“Di po ba ang PGH ang ating pangunahing pampublikong ospital kung saan dinadala natin ang ating mga kababayang tinamaan ng COVID-19?” Zarate said during the budget debate last year. “This is our premier public hospital (PGH) [and] I cannot understand [kung bakit] walang capital outlays eh maraming pangangailangan ang PGH.” ●
