Editorial    
CHIZ URGES STUDENTS TO REPORT
ERRING SUC BOARDS

     Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero called on government scholars to report anomalies on the use of the budget allocation of state universities and colleges (SUCs).

      Escudero made the statement when told by a student at the “Ang Pagsusuri: Vice Presidential Forum” at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in Quezon City recently about the alleged manipulation of the budget of some SUCs.

     He urged student representatives sitting in the governing boards of SUCs to be vigilant and scrutinize the budget of their schools and report fund misuse to authorities.

     “Alam ko lahat ng SUCs may student representative sa board. Sana magamit ng inyong kinatawan, yung inyong representative sa board para malaman kung may katiwalian,” Escudero said.

      “At kung hindi ninyo kakayaning labanan iyon, ipagbigay-alam ninyo po sa amin at magiging katuwang ninyo kami sa pakikipaglaban sa katiwaliang nagaganap sa mga SUCs,” he added.

      The former chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance deplored the alleged misuse of budgets of SUCs, saying that it is tantamount to stealing the future of government scholars.

      Escudero has been pushing for the imposition of maximum penalty for the misuse of funds allotted for calamity and education.

      “Sobra naman iyon. Kinabukasan na ng mga kabataan natin at nasalanta na nga ng bagyo, nanakawin pa yung perang nakalaan para doon,” he said.

      Under the proposed P3.002 (trillion) budget for 2016, SUCs will receive a total subsidy of P44.67 billion. The amount is P2.39 billion higher than the P42.28 billion allocation for SUCs this year.

While the Senate grants an across-the-board increase to all SUCs yearly, those which observe fiscal discipline under the standards set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Commission on Audit (COA) are given bigger amount of subsidies, according to Escudero.

       “Across the board ang dinagdag po ng Senado sa lahat ng SUCs pero yung nagpa-practice ng fiscal discipline at yung nagpapakita ng malinis na paggo-gobyerno ng kanilang pondo, dinagdagan po namin sila ng mas malaking pondo dahil nga maayos yung kanilang practice at naaayon sa standards ng CHED at sa standards din ng COA,” he explained. 

     SENATE APPROVES BIllS REMANING SCHOOL

     The Senate this week approved on third and final reading five bills mandating the renaming of public elementary and high schools in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, La Union and Camiguin.

     Senator Pia S. Cayetano, chairperson of the Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, said that schools as educational institutions are the pillars of the local community and contribute to the identity and character of the community.

      “The name of a school celebrates the pride and history of its community by adopting the name of the remarkable members of their town,” she said.

      Cayetano said that the name of Saverona Elementary School in Barangay Saverona, Talugtog, Nueva Ecija will be renamed in honor of school site donor, Alberto G. Bautista, while San Manuel Norte National High School and Elementary School will be changed to Dr. Manuel T. Cases Sr. National High School and Elementary School, respectively.

      Baybay Elementary School in San Manuel Sur will be renamed San Manuel Sur Elementary School in the Municipality of Agoo, La Union, while  Mahinog National High School in Mahinog, Camiguin will be renamed Sixto A. Abao National High School.

      Cayetano said that the schools have complied with the guidelines laid down by the Department of Education and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines./MP