The House of Representatives has approved the 2026 budget of the Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology (ISUFST) and committed to legislate full payment of funding deficiencies under the free higher education law, including ₱35 million due to the school.

The House Committee on Appropriations, led on the floor by Chair Mikaela Angela Suansing (Nueva Ecija) as sponsor, manifested support to cover an estimated ₱12-billion nationwide shortfall in the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA) through the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) and the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Majority Leader Sandro Marcos and Deputy Majority Leader Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez signified endorsement, while minority Party-List lawmakers Chel Diokno, Perci Cendaña, and Dadah Kiram Ismula  from Akbayan and Renee Louise Co of Kabataan expressed support for full payment of the deficits.
 
Iloilo Fourth District Rep. Ferjenel Biron—principal author of the ISUFST charter—also conferred with ISUFST President Nordy Siason Jr., Planning Director Edmer Bernardo, Budget Officer Melin Puyong, and OIC Board Secretary Reil Jan Patosa to firm up a funding track for the planned Colleges of Nursing and Maritime Studies, estimated at about ₱120 million for facilities and equipment.

“We thank the House leadership and our Iloilo representatives for ensuring resources that keep access free and quality high,” Siason said, adding that the 2026 allocation positions ISUFST to open Nursing and Maritime programs by AY 2026–2027, subject to CHED and MARINA approvals and completion of laboratories and buildings.
 
UAQTEA deficiencies—mismatches between actual costs of free tuition and appropriations—have strained State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), limiting investments in classrooms, laboratories, and teaching resources.

Using HEDF (CHED’s development fund for scholarships, research, QA, and priority projects) and additional GAA appropriations would address these gaps while improving delivery, lawmakers noted.
 
The approval advances ISUFST’s 2026 plan that also covers campus improvements and student services.

“This action directly supports SDG 4 (Quality Education) and strengthens ISUFST’s role in blue-economy training aligned with SDG 14 (Life Below Water),” Dr. Bernardo said in a message after the session.
 
ISUFST—the country’s first and only fisheries university—operates five campuses and sites with programs in fisheries, marine sciences, education, industrial technology, agriculture, IT, and management.

The university is ISO 9001:2015-certified, AACCUP-accredited, and a CHED Center of Development in Fisheries, with recent CHED regional and national citations for internationalization, IP education, peace education, extension, student services, and 100% COPC compliance.
 
The budget measure now moves to the Senate for its own hearings and approval. Differences between House and Senate versions will be reconciled in a Bicameral Conference Committee before submission to the President for enactment into the GAA.Edmer Bernardo and Herman Lagon/PAMMCO/IMT