Dr. Emmanuel Angeles, chair of the Commission on Higher Education, today assured protesting students that there will be no tuition fee increase at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Speaking before students who staged a protest action this afternoon at the CHED main office, Angeles said that he will disapprove any proposal for a tuition fee increase that would be submitted to the Board of Regents of PUP.  

As chair of CHED, Angeles sits as chair of the boards of regents of all state colleges and universities, including PUP.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond V. Palatino, who led the protest action at the CHED, welcomed Angeles’ pledge and called it a victory of students.

Protests erupted last week after the PUP administration posted on its website an announcement of a tuition fee increase to affect incoming freshmen for school year 2010-2011.

The announcement remains posted on the PUP website as of press time.

Donna Pascual, student representative in the PUP board of regents, said the proposal was to raise tuition fees by almost 2,000 percent from the current P12.00 ($0.26) to P200.00 ($4.39) per unit.

Elsewhere in Manila, protests blocked a meeting of the board of regents of the University of the Philippines.

Protesters led by Rain Sindayen, incoming chairperson of the UP Diliman student council, said several members of the board already had expired terms of office and they figured in the removal of the student representative in the board based on technicalities.