Iloilo students protest tuition hikes, call for moratorium

By Juliane Judilla

Students and youth organizations across Iloilo staged a coordinated “Day of Action Against Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI)” on Monday, July 20, to protest rising tuition costs and demand a nationwide moratorium.

Led by Kabataan Partylist Panay and various progressive youth groups, the demonstrators held a picket outside Central Philippine University (CPU) in Iloilo City, which recently imposed a 15% tuition hike — well above the regional inflation rate of 6.6%.

The protest also included flyering efforts at public terminals and near university campuses to raise public awareness.

According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), 22 private universities in Western Visayas have applied for tuition and other fee increases for Academic Year 2025–2026.

Of these, 18 schools raised fees within the regional inflation rate, while four — including John B. Lacson Maritime University (Arevalo and Molo campuses), Western Institute of Technology, and CPU — exceeded the threshold.

Kabataan Partylist condemned the hikes as “inconsiderate” and “unjust,” citing worsening economic conditions and stagnant wages.

“Education is not a business. It is a basic human right,” the group said in a statement.

They urged CHED to immediately implement a tuition moratorium and adopt a more transparent and consultative process for tuition hike approvals.

The group also criticized CHED for acting as a “rubber stamp” for private institutions’ applications, claiming the current process lacks genuine student involvement and fails to reflect the financial hardships faced by Filipino families.

“Any increase in tuition and other school fees further deprives students of their right to accessible and quality education,” the statement added.

Youth organizations also called for a significant increase in the national education budget, urging the Marcos administration to allocate at least 6% of the country’s gross domestic product to education, in line with global standards.

The protest is part of a broader mobilization leading up to the People’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, where students plan to amplify calls to “junk TOFI,” abolish the K–12 program, and push for a truly free and quality education system.