(CHRISTIAN DALE)

IBINALIK ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa Kongreso ang bill o panukalang batas ng pinagsamang
Senate Bill No. 2124 at House Bill No. 9023 (The Charter of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines) na wala niyang pirma.

Ang kopya ng kanyang liham kay Senate President Vicente Sotto III at mga miyembro ng Senado ay ipinalabas ng Malacanang sa media.

“While I recognize the noble objective of the measure to promote, foster, nurture, and protect the right of all citizens to accessible quality education, I have serious reservations on the suitability of the means chosen to attain this end, namely, granting the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) the status of a national polytechnic university, with all the benefits and privileges such status entails,” ang nakasaad sa liham ng Pangulo.

Ayon sa Pangulo, ang PUP ay isa lamang sa mga state universities and colleges (SUCs) sa Pilipinas.

At ang panukalang gawing national polytechnic university ang PUP ay nangangailangan ng ‘reassessed’ o masusing pag-aaral hinggil sa kasalukuyang performance ng ranking nito sa hanay ng SUCs.

Kailangan din na i-evaluate ang performance ng PUP’s satellite campuses at extension programs nito.

At sa oras aniya na maging ganap ang nasabing panukalang batas ay maaapektuhan nito ang budget ng pamahalaan.

“The proposed provision on appropriations would also have a significant fiscal impact on the government, which may be avoided only if the PUP budget would continue to be subject to the need for prioritization and the usual budgetary and monitoring processes,” nakasaad pa rin sa liham ng Pangulo.