Free College Education for Filipinos: A Play between Political Will and Economy

Abstract

In support of UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) frameworks, several countries around the world, including the Philippines, have made provisions for free college tuition. With Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signing the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA), this paper illuminates on the arguments of those who are supporting the Act and those that are against it in the hope of identifying what motivated the Duterte administration to embark in a free college tuition project. Philippine education managers considered it instrumental in increasing the literacy rate of the Philippines and the ultimate answer to poverty. However, Orbeta and Paqueo (2017) posited that universal free tuition is anti-poor since the bigger chunk of the costs of higher education are those for living expenses and instructional materials, which are still inaccessible to the poor since they are not provided by the government. Moreover, critiques argued that the free college education undermines the already low quality of education in the country. While undoubtedly recognized as a leader with strong political will, given the centrality of free college tuition among Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship projects promised during the past presidential election campaign, the President is left with no choice but to rely on a comprehensive taxation system (TRAIN Law) to finance his administration’s lucrative projects as he struggles to maintain his popularity as a leader.