25/09/2026
PRESS RELEASE
ACT Teachers Party-List
September 25, 2026
Tinio exposes ₱5.32B free higher ed deficit, SUC budget cuts, and JOCOS exploitation; Demands salary upgrades for SUC faculty
ACT Teachers Party-List Representative and House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio slammed the Marcos administration’s proposed 2027 national budget for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) at plenary interpellations, exposing a projected funding shortfall in free higher education, severe operational budget cuts, zero capital outlays for a dozen SUCs, and the widespread exploitation of over 26,000 contractual faculty members.
Citing data from the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Tinio revealed that SUCs are staring at a ₱2.048-billion free higher education deficit for 2026 and a ₱2.766-billion shortfall for 2027—a combined gap of ₱5.321 billion.
"Last year, we scored a major victory when Congress added ₱12.3 billion to pay the government's debt to SUCs for free higher education from 2022 to 2025. And yet here we are again — the deficiency has resurfaced for 2026 and is already projected for 2027. Every peso of deficiency means fewer slots, fewer resources, and fewer chances for poor Filipino youth who rely on free college education in our state universities," Tinio said.
Tinio pushed for the allocation of ₱5.32 billion to eliminate the deficit.
Tinio also condemned the reduction of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) across 58 of the country’s 113 SUCs, despite an inflation rate of at least 6%.
"There is no justification whatsoever to reduce SUCs' MOOEs. The DBM claims that they have low utilization rates — but this administration's own Local Government Support Fund, worth over ₱56 billion, has a utilization rate of only 7%, and they still want to increase this LGU pork. Education is cut, while presidential pork is fattened," Tinio argued.
Major MOOE slashes include:
• University of the Philippines: ₱1.9 billion
• Eastern Samar State University: ₱66 million
• West Visayas State University: ₱50 million
• Rizal Technological University: ₱39 million
• Bicol University: ₱32 million
• Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University: ₱20 million
Tinio disclosed that faculty and staff unions reported a Department of Budget and Management (DBM) directive forcing SUCs to return 20% of their MOOE for programs and projects under the UPLIFT. This forced cost-cutting has stripped unions of funds for Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentives, which faculty and other personnel use to augment theyir meager pay. He demanded that SUC MOOEs be restored to 2026 levels at minimum, and net increases at the maximum.
The lawmaker highlighted that 12 SUCs received zero capital outlay (CO), while 25 SUCs were allocated zero infrastructure funding. The 12 SUCs with no CO include:
• Abra State Institute of Sciences and Technology
• Mountain Province State University
• Philippine Merchant Marine Academy
• Laguna State Polytechnic University
• Marinduque State University
• Mindoro State University
• Palawan State University
• Romblon State University
• Western Philippines University
• Bicol University
• Carlos Hilado Memorial State University
• Negros Oriental State University
Tinio further decried the precarious work affecting 55,000 job order (JO) and contract-of-service (COS) personnel in SUCs—more than 26,000 of whom are teaching personnel.
"Enrollment has boomed because higher education became free, so naturally, we need more teachers. But the government refuses to create new plantilla items, so 26,000 of our faculty remain job order and contractual workers. This is a gross injustice. We won 9,000 new items in 2016; a decade later, it is high time we do it again," Tinio declared.
Closing his interpellation, Tinio attacked the long-standing pay disparity affecting entry-level college faculty. An Instructor I position requires a master's degree per CHED rules but pay is pegged at Salary Grade 12 (₱33,947/month). In contrast, other government positions requiring master's degrees are compensated significantly higher:
• Guidance Counselor: SG 16 (₱45,694)
• Master Teacher I: SG 18 (₱53,818)
• Assistant Professor at UP: SG 18 (₱53,818)
"An Instructor I in our SUCs must have a master's degree, yet earns Salary Grade 12. A registered nurse without an MA in a government hospital gets SG 15 (₱42,178)— but a nurse with a master's degree who teaches nursing in an SUC gets SG 12. This is indefensible!" Tinio said. "To the CHED, Civil Service Commission, DBM, and Congress—we have to correct this injustice now."
Tinio explained that raising the base salary of Instructor I to SG 16 would mean corresponding salary upgrades across higher faculty positions.
"Let's give our SUC faculty the salaries they deserve. They worked hard for their professional qualifications, so government must give them the commensurate pay," Tinio added.
Tinio pledged to champion these budget realignments and structural fixes throughout the ongoing plenary budget debates. # # #
