The P2.93-billion decrease in the University of the Philippines’ budget next year will not have an impact on student admissions, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Thursday.

UP’s budget will go down from P25.516 billion this year to P22.587 billion in 2024, based on the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The Budget Department attributed the ”seeming decrease” to the ”congressional initiatives in the 2023 General Appropriations Act for various capital outlay projects for infrastructure, which are one-time or non-recurring expenditures, hence no longer included in the Fiscal Year 2024 NEP.”

”Kapag completion na po siya sa 2023, we don’t need the funding for 2024,” Pangandaman said at a Palace press briefing.

Asked if this would affect the capacity of the country’s premier state university to accept students, Pangandaman replied, ”Wala po.”

The Marcos administration has proposed a budget of P924.7 billion for the education sector next year, up 3.3% from its P895.2-billion allocation for 2023.