The Senate on 14 November submitted and approved the combined budget for 117 state universities and colleges (SUCs) at P97.4 billion, which is P6.7 billion lower than their P104 billion budget in 2022, but is P3 billion more than the proposed figure in the 2023 National Expenditures Program.

Seven SUCs in Metro Manila will receive P6.538 billion or 6.71 percent of the combined Senate-proposed budget.

Twelve schools in Central Luzon will receive the highest portion at P7.79 billion, followed by 11 schools in Western Visayas at P7.55 billion, and six schools in the Bangsamoro Administrative Region in Muslim Mindanao at P5.38 billion.

However, the lower combined budget for SUCs also meant budget cuts in schools, with Region IV-B in MiMaRoPa suffering a bigger budget cut of P1.8 billion, followed by Metro Manila, P1.175 billion, and the Bicol Region, P1.125 billion

The University of the Philippines will make do with a huge budget slash at P23.48 billion, almost half its P44.149 billion proposal and lesser than its P24.39 billion allocation for 2022.