**1. Introduction**

The concept of neoliberalism may not be well understood by many Filipinos, yet ask them about privatization, deregulation, and globalization, and they can surely relate to them. Unknown to many of us, neoliberalism in the form of policy packages by the Philippine government – often comes with foreign aids or debts (Structured Adjustments Programs by IMF, World Bank, ADB, USAid, etc.) or as an obligation as a member of international organizations (APEC, ASEAN, GATT, UN, etc.) – has already re-shaped, transformed, and defined our economic and social lives and the future of the Philippines. Its impact on education is pervasive and wide-reaching.

In fact, I believe that its influence in education is an assurance that neoliberalism is here to stay. Neoliberalism, as a form of governance, is a policy-making strategy "aimed at decreasing the political, legal, and social limits on market processes, corporate growth, and capital accumulation" [1]. It pertains "to ways of governing society that emphasize the central role of markets and advocate for minimal state involvement and intervention in market processes" [2]. It is a corporate market ideology that the world's government embraced since its crucial evolution in the 1980s. Championed by the then US President Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who described it to be "TINA" – there is no alternative – following the economic turmoil during that period created by "command-economies and state-led capitalism" [3], neoliberalism has been the default approach by most governments around the world since then.

Neoliberalism principles are exemplified when market ideas and practices are introduced in government organizations and in the delivery of government services (marketization); when public assets are sold (privatization); when rules limiting businesses are abolished (deregulation); when public services are reduced, or users are charged (user's pay); through modified unionism; by limiting or removing legal protection for workers and local industries; and in economic reforms that lower taxes on high-earning individuals and companies. Neoliberalism in economic terms is equivalent to a free-market idea and the rise of the oligarchs. Over time, neoliberalism has promoted key cultural changes in the society. This includes expanding the reach of the market and its ability to determine things and services as a product that can be sold (commodification) where education is now considered a commodity; turning local economies to depend on the world market and the in and out of foreign capital (globalization); restructuring public institutions in the model of competitive private companies (public sector reform); and giving power to managers who undermine local collective decisions (managerialism) [4].

So far, neoliberalism has already cemented its foundation in the Philippines. Since the takeover of President Cory Aquino in 1986 up to today's government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., neoliberalism has dictated policies and reforms initiated by each president in a span of six administrations. This is not surprising since most government officials elected and appointed have studied their masters and PhDs in the US and in the UK [5]. Its takeover of public higher education is continuing, and although the process is uneven, without a doubt, it will get there soon. Hence, this paper discusses the impact of neoliberalism on public higher education institutions in the Philippines. Specifically, it will describe how quasi-marketization has been implemented and regulated in public state colleges and universities. The Commission on Higher Education's (CHED) directive on Quality Assurance and Internationalization will be given a closer look. The eventual cultural changes among SUCs will also be discussed.
