President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday admitted that he signed a law mandating that government provided free tuition for students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) even though he still did not know how his administration would fund it.
His pronouncement comes three days after he signed Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
"Iyan nga problema ngayon. Gusto ko tanungin sa inyo eh. Mag-konsulta ba ako. Ewan ko, tignan natin kung saan," he told reporters in an interview in Malacañang.
"Kasi iyong pag-approve ng Congress, alam man nilang walang pera. Pagdating sa akin, alam ko naman na walang pera. Pirmahan natin ito, eh 'di sige... Pagdating sa enrollment, iyan ang problema natin," he added.
Duterte's economic managers had previously said the government could not afford to fund the law, which mandates free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs) and vocational schools under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) starting the second semester of school year 2017 to 2018.
After Duterte signed the law, the chairpersons of the Senate finance and House appropriations committees assured the public that they will find the needed budget to fund it.
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