PUP calls on gov’t to heed P15.7B budget proposal for 2027

MANILA, Philippines – The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) is seeking a higher budget allocation for fiscal year 2027 as it grapples with rising operating costs and overcrowded classrooms across its campuses nationwide.

Speaking to reporters, PUP President Manuel Muhi said the university’s current budget is no longer enough to support its more than 107,000 students enrolled across 27 campuses and learning centers in the country.

READ: Dizon vows to complete unfinished buildings in PUP campuses by 2027

For the 2027 national budget, PUP proposed P15.7 billion to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“Electricity rates are more expensive. Gas, too. We’re also hiring more faculty members so their pay [is a factor] as well,” Muhi said in Filipino.

“We keep rationalizing our budget. We have a lot on our wish list,” he added.

The proposed allocation is higher than PUP’s P13.9-billion budget request for 2026. However, the university ultimately received only P3.8 billion under the General Appropriations Act.

Muhi said the lower-than-expected allocation forced the university to shelve some projects and delay infrastructure developments, including the completion of the nine-storey North Wing Building at its main campus in Manila.

The project is supposedly expected to help address the shortage of classrooms and accommodate the growing student population.

“We have 27 campuses spread all over the Philippines, including the Open University. The tuition fee that we provide to students is only P12 per unit. But they don’t pay because they have free higher education. Not much goes to PUP, so we’re in a difficult situation,” Muhi said.

The university’s funding request comes as the DBM has already signaled a limited fiscal space for the 2027 budget cycle.

“Given the limited available fiscal space, agency budget proposals will be carefully evaluated in terms of value for money, performance metrics and alignment with the government’s fiscal consolidation strategy,” the DBM said in National Budget Memorandum No. 156.

Despite this, Muhi said he hopes PUP will receive at least half of its proposed budget.

The DBM has yet to comment on the university’s request for a higher budget allocation.

Open University Building

In a related development, PUP on Wednesday unveiled its P185 million four-storey Open University Building, designed to serve as a facility for the university’s open and distance education programs.

According to DBM Acting Secretary Kim Robert De Leon, the new facility is among the important investments in terms of expanding education access.

”[It] strengthens the university’s capacity to offer affordable and flexible degree and non-degree programs, helping democratize access to quality higher education beyond the limitations of conventional classrooms,” he said in a statement. /pai INQ