(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed the consolidated bill of the Senate and House of Representatives that aims to grant national polytechnic university status to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
In vetoing Senate Bill No. 2124 and House Bill No. 9023, the President, in a letter to Senate President Tito Sotto and other members of the Senate, said that while he recognizes the “noble objective” of the measure, there was a need to “reassess” the performance of PUP and its satellite campuses and extension programs vis à vis the others before granting the PUP system as a whole such “privileged status.”
“A reassessment is all the more needful considering that the enrolled bill provides for the grant of fiscal autonomy to PUP, which departs from the adopted policy of granting only institutional autonomy to (state universities and colleges),” Duterte said.
He added 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.”
“These concerns taken together put in question the suitableness of the passage of the measure at this time,” he said.
