Congress told: Give more to Education in 2009 Budget

Youth group demands additional P 536. 72 million to schools recognized as centers of excellence, non-payment of illegitimate loans and an end of automatic debt payments. 

Youth Against Debt, Front-page in Malaya

Students from various state colleges and universities led by the Youth Against Debt (YAD) staged a noise barrage in front of the House of Representatives (HoR) today to demand higher state subsidy to public tertiary education in the proposed P 1.45 trillion 2009 National Government Budget. The said activity coincided with Congress’ deliberation of the respective budgets of state colleges and universities (SUCs) based in the National Capital Region.

Complete with whistles and noise gadgets, the student protestors from the University of the Philippines (UP), Philippine Normal University (PNU) and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) demanded from Congress an additional budget for higher education amounting to P 536.72 million covering P 47.82 million in additional budget for capital outlay and P 488.89 million worth of tuition subsidy to students belonging to 31 SUCs recognized as centers of excellence and development.

YAD Cebu calls for Moratorium on Debt Payments, 6% of GNP to Education

From the weekly column of Atty. Gloria Estenzo-Ramos of the University of Cebu College of Law, Green Forum, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines- National Environment Action Team (IBP-NEAT), published by Cebu Daily News yesterday.

Moratorium on odious debts

By Gloria Ramos
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 16:34:00 06/16/2008

“Moratorium,” according to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, means “suspension of an activity.” Recently, Youth Against Debt (YAD) called for a debt moratorium and for government to prioritize funding for education. The 1987 Constitution mandates the State to “assign the highest budgetary priority to education,” yet education spending was only 2.26 of the Gross National Product (GNP) in 2007. This falls below the accepted international standard for financing education, called the UNESCO Delors Benchmark, which set the education expenditure of developing countries at six percent of the GNP.

Mar Roxas supports 6%-of-GNP government spending for education

Below is a news article from the Sun.Star Network Online. It is also published in page 2 of Sun.Star Cebu today. The portion where Mar Roxas said he supports the call of youth groups for gov’t to spend 6% of GNP for education had been highlighted. The local GMA7 news program “Balistang Bisdak” also made a similar report yesterday afternoon.

Sen. Roxas: “At six percent, we are only at par with other countries in Southeast Asia . We need a little bit more than that.”

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Opening of classes in C. Visayas ’smooth’
By Elisabeth P. Baumgart and Katrina A. Balmaceda
Correspondents

CEBU CITY — About 90 percent of the expected 1.3 million students showed up in schools all over Central Visayas Tuesday, yet no major problems were reported to the Department of Education (DepEd) 7 office.

Students: Gov’t not spending enough on education – Cebu Daily News

Students: Gov’t not spending enough on education
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 12:15pm (Mla time) 06/10/2008

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A students’ group has blamed the country’s “poor” quality of education on the national government’s “inadequate” budget for education.

RP’s education budget lacked P1.66T: groups – SunStar

From SunStar Cebu

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
RP’s education budget lacked P1.66T: groups

IF a 1996 Unesco document were to be followed, the Philippine Government owes Filipino students P1.66 trillion to fund education.

This is according to a research found by the Youth Against Debt (YAD)-Cebu and the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)- Cebu.

In a press conference yesterday, the group said that the Philippines signed the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Delors Benchmark that set the education expenditure of developing countries at six percent of the Gross National Product (GNP).

“Six will Fix!” against “Katas ng VAT”

Youth Against Debt’s (YAD) press briefing and photo op yesterday [08 June 2008] against the P1-billion “Katas ng VAT” dole-outs of the Arroyo administration for education came out in BusinessMirror (Page 1), Manila Bulletin (Page 15), GMANews.TV (Photo) and Tumbok (Photo).

Tumbok
09 June 2008, Page 4
Photo by Nino Orbeta (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Groups say ‘Katas ng VAT’ nowhere near Arroyo P1.3T education debt

By ANGELO L. GUTIERREZ

From abs-cbnNEWS.com

President Arroyo’s recent unveiling of the P1-billion “Katas ng VAT Pantawid Aral” could have made her look like a generous leader, but education advocacy groups said Friday that the amount is nowhere near her administration’s incurred debt to the education sector.

Based on the Delors Benchmark, the internationally-agreed benchmark for education budget since its presentation to the UNESCO in 1996, the Arroyo administration was short of P272.4 billion in education spending for 2007, said the education advocates.

Group wants debt moratorium, 6% GNP education spending

From GMANews.TV news: Group wants debt moratorium, 6% GNP education spending

MANILA, Philippines – With one week to go before classes start, militant anti-debt youths demanded that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo follow the United Nations’ benchmark to spend six percent of gross national product on education.

The Youth Against Debt (YAD) also reiterated the call for a moratorium on paying “illegitimate” debts, instead of having President Arroyo calling for a freeze in tuition hikes.