Senator Raffy Tulfo made an ocular inspection at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Sta. Mesa recently upon the request of students who came to his program “Raffy Tulfo in Action.”
In his visit, Tulfo was able to confirm the report of PUP students that the school facilities are old, damaged and not conducive for learning.
“Maaari ngang dekalidad ang edukasyon sa Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) pero bulok ang mga pasilidad dito,” the legislator said.
“Mala-pugon ang init sa mga hallway at ilang mga classroom… Ang kanilang mga silya ay nagmamakaawa nang mapalitan.”
“Kalunos-lunos ang hitsura ng mga gusali at classroom. Ang mga kagamitan sa engineering laboratory halimbawa ay sobrang pinaglumaan na ng panahon at naghihikahos. Mala-pugon ang init sa mga hallway at ilang mga classroom, kapos na kapos sa ventilation at iilan lang ang mga electric fan. Ang kanilang mga silya ay nagmamakaawa nang mapalitan. Ang lahat ng gusali ay hindi PWD-friendly dahil sira ang mga elevator,” the lawmaker added.
The senator shared that the laboratory equipment of the Engineering Department are difficult to operate while some already appear like junk.
He stressed that there are buildings in PUP that need to be renovated and equipment that need to be upgraded.
For one, Tulfo said that there are many chairs that are old and fragile and classrooms that are too hot because of a lack of ventilation and ceiling fans.
The elevators in various buildings, he shared, are also broken, which should have been used by PWD students.
In the school’s basketball court, Tulfo said the ball might not even bounce because the floor already has a lot of flakes. To make matters worse, he said there are electrical cables dangling inside the gym which can cause accidents.
Tulfo likewise expressed dismay over the lack of electricity of some of the buildings due to construction, sharing that there is, in fact, another project of the DPWH that has been under construction for almost a year and only a portion of it has been finished. Also worrying, he shared, are the scattered heaps of discarded items in various places on campus that can infest mosquitoes and cause dengue.
“PUP’s budget alloted by the Congress yearly is being slashed by the DBM that’s why we don’t have enough funds to make necessary building improvement and buy modern equipment.”
According to University President Manuel Muhi and Vice President for Administration
Adam Ramilo, which Tulfo met, the university’s budget alloted by the Congress yearly is being slashed by the Department of Budget Management (DBM) that’s why they don’t have enough funds to make necessary building improvements and buy modern equipment.
Due to this, Tulfo promised Muhi and Ramilo that he will fight to ensure that PUP’s budget will not be slashed in the upcoming budget hearing at the Senate and improve the experience of students, most of which are children of OFWs.
Before leaving the university, Tulfo made several recommendations to improve the university, such as conducting structural integrity check and seismic retrofitting in old buildings considering that PUP is one of the highly populated universities in the country.
