Bam Aquino vows higher budget for free college tuition

Senatorial candidate and former Senator Bam Aquino tells supporters to “bridge the division” among Filipinos in his speech at a campaign rally in Lucena City, Quezon province on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Photo by Jason Sigales/INQUIRER.net)

LUCENA CITY, Philippines — Senatorial candidate and former Senator Bam Aquino has vowed to increase the budget for college tuition subsidies if elected again.

At his campaign rally in Lucena City, Quezon Province, on Thursday, Aquino called out the P3 billion slashed from the funds supposedly for free higher education in the 2025 national budget.

“When we return to the Senate, we will increase the funding for free college so that more youth can benefit from it and more mothers and fathers will see their situations improve,” Aquino said in Filipino.

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Aquino is the proponent of the law that sought to mandate tuition-free college education in state universities and colleges.

He is aiming to make a Senate comeback, mainly anchoring his campaign on education.

“When we return to the Senate, we will strengthen the law for free college. What we want to add to free college is what we call ensured employment,” he said in Filipino.

“It’s not enough that college is free… it has to be that when our youth graduates, whether it be from grade 12 or college, they can secure a livelihood,” he added.