REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

657

House Resolution No.

Introduced by KABATAAN PARTY-LIST Representative Sarah Jane |. Elago

RESOLUTION
URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, COMMISSION ON HIGHER
EDUCATION, AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE MORATORIUM ON TUITION AND OTHER FEE
INCREASES (TOF!) ON ALL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AMID CALAMITIES

WHEREAS, Article XIV, Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and
Sports, Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution declares that “the State shall protect
and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take
appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all;

WHEREAS, it is also the policy of the state to meet the needs of its people, most
especially in times of crisis;

WHEREAS, in the past months, Filipinos experience series of displacement, loss and
devastation wrought by typhoons Tisoy and Ursula, earthquakes in Mindanao, and the
eruption of Taal volcano among recent calamities;

WHEREAS, apart from our efforts and calls to provide immediate relief and fast
release of aid to all affected communities, a tuition moratorium is necessary to give
the people, especially the parents and students, a much-needed respite as they
rebuild their homes and their lives while ensuring learning continuity;

WHEREAS, the onslaught of typhoons and earthquakes in the second half of 2019
alone left billions of damages in schools, hospitals, homes, with thousands of
evacuees and displaced students, teachers and workers;

WHEREAS, this 2020, classes in Tisoy and Ursula-hit areas resume in tents or other
temporary leaming spaces. ‘Double shifting’ of classes is also being implemented to
accommodate the high number of students;

WHEREAS, since the eruption of Taal, the Department of Education reports about 2.4
million students affected with 1,055 personnel and 30,814 learners in 78 public schools
located in the 14-km radius danger zone of the volcano, and about 1,600 classrooms
in 141 nearby public schools which are accommodating more than 58,000 people;


WHEREAS, particularly in higher education, more than half, 52.7% or 1.7 million, are
enrolled in private institutions out of the total number of students at 3.2-million. Yearly
average tuition and other school fee increases under the Duterte administration:

Academic Year 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020
Tuition Increase (%) 6.96 10.88 10.7
Other School Fee Increase (%) 6.9 12.84 12.89

Source: Commission on Higher Education

Fee hikes almost doubled since the enactment TRAIN law which likewise contributed
to unprecedented price increases food and other commodities;

WHEREAS, in fact, stopping the increases on tuition and other school fee (TOSF) is
long overdue because of the skyrocketing cost of education due to decades-long
policies of deregulation and commercialization, while wage increases remain very low.
Any TOSF increase spells an additional burden aggravated by already high prices of
goods, meager salaries, and contractualization on top of the dire impact of rice
tariffication law on farmers and agriculture at large;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the
members of the House of Representatives strongly urge the Departments of
Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to impose a moratorium on
any school fee increase, be it tuition, miscellaneous, and other schools fees on all
public and private educational institutions.

Adopted,

Rep. SARAI IE |. ELAGO
Kabataan t