Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Prospero de Vera III said on Tuesday that a screening test for the grant of free college education in state universities and colleges (SUCs) could be disastrous for the country.

"We’re not asking for the moon. We’re not asking for doubling the budget for free higher education. Pinagkakasya namin kung anong nandiyan [we make most of what’s there]. But please, do not set it aside because the impact of this all over the country is really going to be disastrous," de Vera said in an interview with another media outlet.

The statement comes after Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno suggested reviewing the free college education system in SUCs and determining which students qualify for free tuition and other benefits.

De Vera emphasized the importance of having access to higher education as he called for the government to create more opportunities for Filipinos to get a university education. He added that a screening test could leave many out of the free tuition program, noting that higher education yielded the highest return on investment (ROI).

Citing a World Bank report, he claimed that graduates from college would yield an ROI for the government of 17%, followed by those from high school and elementary school.

"If the policy of the government is to increase access and equity in higher education, then the Free Higher Education Law is the right way to do it," de Vera said.

"If you want a workforce that makes you competitive in the future, the government must invest in higher education now because the skills of the future, you don't learn it in primary and secondary education anymore," he added.

Diokno earlier said that the present scheme of free education is "unwieldy, inefficient, and wasteful."

When the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act was passed in 2017, Diokno, who served as the budget secretary, expressed doubts about the program's viability.