Youth and student groups in Iloilo City held a picket and distributed leaflets on July 21 to oppose the tuition fees increase at private universities in the city. Led by national-democratic organizations, they called for a moratorium on tuition hikes and a larger budget for the education sector in the country.

The groups handed out leaflets at terminals and universities, and held a picket in front of the Central Philippine University (CPU) campus in Jaro, Iloilo City. CPU is one of 22 Iloilo schools that have submitted proposals for tuition increases to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the 2025–2026 academic year.

CPU proposed a tuition increase of up to 15%, while the two campuses of John B. Lacson Maritime University Foundation and Western Institute of Technology have proposed increases of more than 6.6%. Iloilo Doctor’s College and PHINMA University of Iloilo also seek to raise tuition.

“These increases are unjust and inconsiderate of the worsening economic conditions of Filipino families,” Kabataan Party-list (KPL) Panay declared. The group further said that universities are proposing hikes while workers’ wages remain stagnant and low, far from the level of a living wage in the country.

The group stated, “Any increase in tuition and other school fees further deprives students of their right to accessible and quality education.”

KPL Panay called on CHED to release and make public the complete data on its approved tuition hikes and to review the mechanisms that allow such increases. The youth party also pointed out the failure of CHED’s mechanisms for consulting students whenever tuition is raised.

The group emphasized that CHED must immediately impose a moratorium on tuition hikes in private universities and schools. “Halt the mechanism of commodifying education and making CHED a stamp-pad for private higher education institutions’ unreasonable tuition fee hikes,” it said.

The group also called on the Marcos regime to increase the budget for the public education sector to accommodate more students. KPL Panay also urged fellow youth in the region to participate in the upcoming anti-SONA demonstration on July 28 in Iloilo City, to hold the Marcos regime accountable for its crimes against Filipinos.