THE House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved on second reading a measure that seeks to widen access to free tertiary education by strengthening the Tertiary Education Subsidy and opening a voucher pathway for qualified Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries who choose to study in private higher education and technical-vocational institutions.
House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos said the bill is meant to ensure that academic potential among poor households does not stall at senior high school because tuition, fees and daily school costs remain out of reach.
Marcos said that the measure is part of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council Common Legislative Agenda, as the House under Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III moves priority reforms with urgency in a season when families want help they can actually use.
“Under Speaker Dy, we are advocating for bills that are relevant to everyday life, focusing on issues that affect the home, school, and workplace,” Marcos stated.
The measure, House Bill (HB) No. 8476, is a substitute bill that reforms the Tertiary Education Subsidy program under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and introduces a voucher system for poor and academically qualified students who opt to study in private schools.
In his sponsorship speech, Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre, Char of the House Committee on Technical and Higher Education, framed the substitute bill as a practical clean-up of the Tertiary Education Subsidy, meant to remove the usual friction that keeps poor but capable students stuck at the gate.
“The substitute bill before us therefore seeks to strengthen the TES program through several key reforms,” Acidre expressed.
Acidre began with a priority lane for families already identified as most in need, so the support follows the student as soon as they clear admission.
“First, the measure prioritizes and automatically includes students from households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps in the Tertiary Education Subsidy once they qualify for admission to higher education institutions recognized by the Commission on Higher Education,” Acidre noted.
He argued that the poorest families shouldn’t have to prove their hardship twice, especially since the program is meant to keep them in school.
“If a student already belongs to a household officially recognized by the government as among the poorest in the country, then that student should not have to struggle through additional layers of verification simply to receive support for education.”
For everyone else competing for the remaining slots, he argued the targeting should be updated, local, and anchored on real household data instead of guesswork or outdated lists.
“Second, for the remaining TES slots, the bill introduces a more accurate and updated targeting mechanism by utilizing the Community-Based Monitoring System or CBMS, established under Republic Act No. 11315,” he stated.
Acidre presented CBMS as a way to rank applicants more fairly because it lets government see per capita income at the household level, not just broad categories.
“Through the CBMS, local governments now collect household-level socioeconomic data that allow us to rank applicants based on per capita household income,” he stressed.
Acidre also accommodated families that might not be included in any database, ensuring that a lack of a record does not necessarily result in a missed opportunity.
“At the same time, the measure ensures that students who may not yet be captured by the CBMS database may still qualify for TES, subject to income verification guidelines to be issued by the UniFAST Board,” he explained.
Acidre then shifted to the reality of geography, where a student’s hometown can decide whether college is even an option, and he pushed to prevent that from becoming a built-in disadvantage.
“Third, students from underserved areas have long raised the issue of geographic inequality,” he stated.
“Many municipalities still do not have campuses of State Universities and Colleges, Local Universities and Colleges, or public technical-vocational institutions.”
From there, he introduced the voucher feature as a flexibility tool, recognizing that private schools fill gaps in access and programs, especially when public options are limited or mismatched.
“In addition, the measure introduces a voucher mechanism that allows academically qualified but economically disadvantaged students to enroll in private higher education institutions or technical-vocational institutions, even in areas where public institutions already exist,” he said.
“This recognizes a simple reality: while public institutions remain the backbone of our higher education system, the private sector continues to play an important role in expanding access and offering specialized programs.”
Finally, he addressed the anxiety that eats away at beneficiaries, the fear that support will disappear midstream, and he pushed for continuity so students can finish what they started.
“The substitute bill provides that once a student qualifies for TES, the subsidy shall continue until the student completes his or her program, provided that academic and residency requirements are met,” he said.
The measure was introduced by Reps. Jaime Fresnedi, Ernesto Dionisio Jr., Renee Louise Co, Antonio Tinio, Roman Romulo, Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro, Midy Cua, Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila Jr., Iris Marie Demesa Montes, Antolin Oreta III, Dante Garcia, Kenneth Paolo Tereng, Jan “Atty. JP” Padiernos, Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, Andrew Julian Romualdez, Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde, Benjamin Agarao Jr., Audrey Kay Zubiri, Ricardo Cruz Jr., Mikaela Angela Suansing, Christopherson “Coco” Yap,
Eulogio “Leo” Rodriguez, Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan, Jonathan Keith Flores, Leila De Lima, Adrian Salceda, Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva, Eric Olivarez, Terry Ridon, Marcelino Libanan, Rufus Rodriguez, Bernadette Escudero, Ustadz Yusop Alano, Caroline Agyao, M.D., Dale Corvera, Karen Hope Garcia, Ma. Isabel Sagarbarria, Isidro Lumayag, Kenneth Gatchalian, Nikko Raul Daza,
Jose Manuel Tadeo “Chel” Diokno, Percival “Perci” Cendaña, Maria Cristina Talavera Lopez, Johanne Monich Bautista, Loreto Amante, Patricia Calderon, Adrian Michael Amatong, Elijah Rumbaoa San Fernando, Mario “Kokoy” Salvador, Julius Cesar “Jay” Vergara, Sarah Jane Elago, Antonino Roman III, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Jesus Madrona, Ryan Recto, Nicanor Briones, Jose “Bong” Teves Jr., Laarni Lavin Roque, Jc Abalos, Arthur Yap, Carlos Andes Loria, Ma. Alana Samantha Taliño Santos,
Ferdinand “B1” Beltran, Ferdinand Hernandez, Gerardo “Gerryboy” Espina Jr., Arthur Celeste, John Tracy Cagas, Leonel “Jhong” Ceniza, Maximo Dalog Jr., Brian Poe, Ma. Cristina Talavera Lopez, Aniela Bianca Tolentino, Javier Miguel Benitez, Agatha “Agay” Cruz, Richard Gomez, DPA, Augustina Dominique “Ditse Tina” Pancho, Nathaniel Oducado, Romeo Momo Sr., Julienne “Jam” Baronda, Maria Carmen Zamora,
Maria Rachel Arenas, Raymond Democrito Mendoza, Joseph Kim Yu, Monique Yazmin Maria Lagdameo, Irwin Tieng, Irene Labadlabad, Alexandria “Queenie” P. Gonzales, Joseph Tan, Edwin Ongchuan, Felimon Espares, Charisse Anne Hernandez, Roberto “Pinpin” Uy Jr., Sittie Aminah Dimaporo, Milagros Aquino-Magsaysay, Alyssa Michaela “Mica” Gonzales, Jan Franz Norbert Joselito Chan, Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, Janette Garin, and De Carlo Uy.
