Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co on Friday, July 11, described President Marcos’ veto on the National Polytechnic University bill as not a product of his own generosity, but the fruit of the relentless struggle of the Filipino youth.

Co claimed that the Marcos administration initially thought it could sneak such a “deceptive corporate rebrand” past the Filipino people.

But the Filipino community stood firm in exposing that such bill would only be a tool of commercialization and privatization of public universities, such as the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), she added.

“This veto is not his generosity. It is a victory we seized through years of relentless struggle,” she said.

Marcos vetoed the bill as a way to make sure that PUP was fully up to standard first with other "globally-competitive" universities that meet foreign interests.

But it’s not because he supports the PUP community's fight against commercialization policies at the core of the NPU Bill, Co claimed.

“His veto at worst can also be a signal for PUP administrators to back his political agenda in exchange for higher funding and other favors. Di pa tapos ang laban (The fight isn't over yet),” she said.

“Dapat di na muling isampa ang maka-negosyong Neglect and Privatization of Universities Bill sa susunod na Kongreso (The pro-businessmen Neglect and Privatization of Universities Bill should never make it again in the next Congress),” she said.

“Instead of forcing PUP to meet arbitrary qualifications for national university status, Marcos Jr. should guarantee adequate funding and the right to education for every student, regardless of their school's status or classification,” she added.