CAGAYAN de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez on Monday, September 19, said an increase in the budget for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is necessary to support college students.

"If there is any agency that should have an increase in their budget or should have a big budget, it should be for tertiary education," Rodriguez said during the hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations on the proposed 2023 budget for CHED.

Rodriguez expressed his dismay over the slashing of P11 billion from the commission's proposed budget of P41.4 billion.

The budget allocated to CHED for 2023 is only PP30.7 billion, which is P2 billion less from the 2022 budget of P32.7 billion.

Rodriguez said due to the P11 billion cut, there is a decrease in the student financial assistance fund of P305 million and a P295 million decrease in the universal access to quality tertiary education funding.

He said this affects the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) beneficiaries who rely on government financial assistance for their studies.

The Kagay-anon lawmaker has asked CHED Commissioner Prospero De Vera to submit to the committee a list of priority items for augmentation and prioritize the increase of the legal education board by P50 million to provide adequate support to law students and professors.

Rodriguez moved to approve CHED's budget with an augmentation of P2-3 billion.