Education is often hailed as the key to success, but for most Filipino students, the door remains locked.

For generations, Filipinos have been raised on a singular promise: study hard, graduate, and secure a job—ideally abroad. We have built a social construct around the belief that a college diploma is an automatic ticket to a better life. Today, however, that promise is a luxury reserved only for those with equity, wealth, and power.

The announcement of billions in budget cuts for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the 2027 Fiscal Budget is a devastating blow. By stripping these institutions of funding, the government isn't just cutting numbers on a spreadsheet; it is actively crushing the dreams of millions of aspiring youth.

The Philippine law suggests that we have free college through the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA No. 10931), but let us be frank: education in this country has never truly been free.

The systemic gap is glaringly obvious in the recent University of the Philippines Admission Test (UPCAT). Over 153,000 students competed for a fraction of the slots. While affluent applicants had the privilege of expensive review centers and premium study materials, marginalized students were left to rely on their perseverance alone. 

This does not only apply to the UPCAT but to many SUCs that select students based on their intelligence—not their need. While it is fair enough to ensure that the student who will gain such a slot is competent enough to retain it. However, what will happen to those who are not the brightest nor the Einsteins of this generation? 

Even if colleges now ask for the applicants' backgrounds—checking if they are first-generation college students, 4Ps beneficiaries, or looking at their parents’ salaries—the system still fundamentally boils down to academic cutoff scores. 

Many students are forced to rely on a hyper-competitive admission process that ultimately reduces them to simple numbers: "You didn’t meet the cutoff? Then say goodbye to your dreams."

But education isn’t tuition alone; it is a collection of various hidden costs, and tuition is merely the baseline. Many students go to school hungry and without proper transportation. As reported by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 12% of 15-year-old Filipino learners go to school hungry. Media coverage routinely exposes the desperation of students crossing rivers and traversing difficult terrain just to reach a classroom. Once inside, school tasks still require heavy out-of-pocket funding from students just to buy basic project materials.

Yet, instead of implementing reforms to ease these systemic burdens, the state has chosen to divert critical resources away from the youth to fund flawed infrastructure programs. It is a bitter irony that billions are stripped from education to finance the very infrastructure projects that have gone under fire over the past year for rampant corruption. So the question is: why not invest in something that will actually work? 

Admittedly, the Philippines desperately needs proper infrastructure, especially to repair substandard public works that left communities vulnerable to the devastating, rising floods this July and August. However, these can call for different actions such as much more rigorous planning in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and Climate Change Action (CCA) that will actually reduce the impact of typhoons and floods in the country. 

The true foundation of our nation lies within its students, not its concrete. Roads and bridges will eventually deteriorate, but the knowledge that empowers our students to build a better, corruption-free country will last forever.

The students of today are highly aware of political realities and what this nation truly needs. Despite these aggressive budget cuts, we will continue to strive, organize, and collectively force open that locked door—leading not only to our personal success, but also the nation’s success.