We welcome the move of the House of Representatives for allotting P40 billion next year for free college education in state universities and colleges and locally funded colleges.

Free tertiary public education is a cornerstone of the social development policy of the Duterte administration.

The President signed into law Republic Act 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, last August, to provide all Filipinos with equal opportunity to quality tertiary education and give priority to academically able students who come from poor families.

We hope that the Senate would fully support the House initiative so that more than one million students in our public universities and colleges can enjoy free tuition and miscellaneous fees starting June 2018.

The P40 billion would also provide additional stipends for very poor students and allow parents to borrow low-interest loans to help their children complete their education.