Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto underscored that the Department of Finance (DOF) is maximizing every peso collected in its revenue efforts to prioritize funding for education along with social protection, food security, and infrastructure, among others, to produce a generation of globally competitive Bagong Pilipino.

“Education must be a top priority of the government. And it is the last expenditure upon which the Philippines should be willing to economize,” he said in his keynote address during the 2024 Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) Annual Convention and General Assembly on July 15, 2024 at the SMX Convention Center Manila in Pasay City.

“Because a country’s progress hinges on the quality of its human capital. Education dictates whether a nation prospers or remains poor,” he added.

According to the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), education receives the bulk of budget allocation worth PHP 969.0 billion. This is 8.2% higher compared to 2023.

Of the total, funding for SUCs reached PHP 132.9 billion, a double-digit or 19.3% increase from last year.

This includes a PHP 21.7 billion allocation for SUCs to provide free tertiary education to over 3.1 million students across the country, a law that Secretary Recto championed in 2017 during his time as a legislator.

“It was my goal to ensure that every student who cannot make it to college on his own receives a helping hand from the government. After all, building the country’s talent pool is not the responsibility of families alone. The government has to be proactive and give its share,” he said.

The Finance Chief stressed that a college education is the best investment one can ever make, having a high rate of return of around 15%. This is better than what banks and stocks can offer.

For instance, the World Bank estimates a 17% increase in earnings for those with college degrees–the highest compared to those with primary and secondary education only.

Other studies reveal that a college degree significantly increases an individual’s chances of being employed, attaining a better retirement plan, and even enjoying a longer life expectancy.

“A college diploma may not make one as rich as Elon Musk. But it is a tried-and-tested ticket out of poverty–towards a life of prosperity and health. So imagine the effects this can have on the Philippine economy,” Secretary Recto said.

With the Philippines currently enjoying a demographic sweet spot or a median age of only 25 years old, the Finance Chief said having more workers with college diplomas could fuel a transformative surge in productivity, innovation, and economic growth–breaking the cycle of poverty in the country.

To fully harness this potential, he said the government is also equally prioritizing social protection, food security, and physical infrastructure to ensure that Filipinos are not just well-educated but are healthy and thriving.

This year, the government is spending around PHP 440 billion on social protection programs like ayuda; PHP 221.7 billion on the agriculture sector to improve agricultural productivity; and PHP 1.47 trillion on infrastructure projects to enhance the country’s logistics backbone, including disaster-resilient school buildings.

“[R]ail projects like the upcoming Metro Manila Subway and the LRT-1 Cavite Extension will dramatically help students within the metro and nearby provinces to travel seamlessly to university areas,” he said.

To prepare the next generation of students for a future driven by artificial intelligence (AI), the government is also working on bridging the digital divide from Luzon to Mindanao through the Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project and the National Broadband Program.

Meanwhile, the DOF is utilizing fiscal policy as a tool to promote a regime that rewards AI, innovation, and the creation of new knowledge through the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) bill that helps bring in more investments for human capital development.

“Through attractive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, the CREATE MORE bill will help bring in more investments for human capital development, such as the establishment of knowledge, innovation, and science technology (KIST) parks in our SUCs,” Secretary Recto said.

Simultaneously, the government is vigorously improving the ease of doing business in the country through its game-changing reforms and policies to attract more foreign investments that will provide the training Filipino students need to master both the soft and hard skills required to excel globally.

To complement the government’s initiatives, Secretary Recto encouraged SUCs to continue delivering world-class education through its instructors as well as utilizing its available resources efficiently.

As hotspots of creativity and progress, he likewise urged the SUCs to embrace constant modernization, innovation, and reinvention at every turn.

“Rest assured, the DOF stands ready to support the PASUC every step of the way in nurturing a new generation of healthy, smart, and globally competitive Bagong Pilipino,” the Finance Chief said in closing.

PASUC is an association of public tertiary school institutions in the Philippines.

With the theme “Advancing Competitiveness of SUCs for National Development”, the three-day event aims to explore various strategies to enhance SUC programs and initiatives.

Around 1,000 SUC leaders, administrators, deans, directors, faculty members, and other key SUC officials and managers participated in the event.