MANILA — A Pulse Asia survey suggests 98 percent of Filipinos support free tuition in public universities, said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who commissioned the survey.

The Pulse Asia survey showed that 99 percent in classes A, B, and C; 97 percent in class D; and 100 percent in class E support the program.

The survey was conducted from September 10 to 14.

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Majority of the respondents cited the increase in the number of graduates as the top reason that they support the program.

Gatchalian said this result could be a reflection of the respondents’ belief that a college degree is the path towards a higher quality of life and better opportunities.

“Marami na sa ating mga kababayan ang nakinabang sa libreng kolehiyo, at mahalagang tiyakin nating patuloy nating mabibigyan ng dekalidad at abot-kayang edukasyon ang ating mga kabataan,” said Gatchalian.

(Many of our fellow Filipinos benefited from free college tuition and it is important that we make sure that we continue to provide quality and affordable education to our youth.)

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier called for changes to the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017, saying the current regime is “unwieldy, inefficient, and wasteful" because, he said, more students are dropping out of school.

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Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Prospero de Vera has said that investing in the education of college students is the "best anti-poverty strategy," and a way to produce highly skilled manpower.

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Of the P36.4-billion budget requested by CHED for 2024, the Department of Budget and Management granted only P29.6 billion.

The budget of the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) for free higher education also has a deficiency of P4.1 billion, which Gatchalian vowed to address during the budget deliberations.