THE so-called “third chamber” of Congress, the Bicameral Conference Committee, has decided to prune the 2025 budget of the Department of Education by P12 billion, to the consternation and disappointment of Education Secretary Sonny Angara and various teachers’ groups.
Students nationwide are slow in reacting, but soon their organizations are expected to take to the streets to protest this move by the Senate headed by Chiz Escudero and the House of Representatives headed by Martin Romualdez.
Comebacking senatorial candidate Panfilo Lacson was a lone voice when he issued a statement saying that putting another department (the Department of Public Works and Highways) ahead of DepEd in the allocation of funds in the General Appropriations Bill is actually against the Constitution.
‘“We’re seeing suspicious increases in presidential and congressional pork barrel and unprogrammed appropriations.’
“Sad to learn that both houses of Congress have decided to decrease by P12 billion the budget the President proposed for DepEd for 2025. This reverses a trend in recent years where Congress added even more to the education budget, save for one year during the pandemic,” Angara posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The bicameral conference committee on Wednesday reduced to P737 billion, from P748.65 billion, the DepEd’s 2025 funding allocation in the reconciled version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB). Of the amount cut, P10 billion will be slashed from the DepEd’s computerization program, which aims to provide public schools with gadgets, equipment, software and training for teachers and students. Of the P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025, P1.1 trillion will be allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
By way of explanation, Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate finance committee, said that despite the budget cut, the DepEd’s 2025 budget increased from this year’s P715.3 billion. She noted that according to the Commission on Audit, the utilization rate of the computerization program is at 50 percent in 2023 and 11.92 percent as of June 2024. The DepEd budget for teaching supplies allowance has been doubled, from P4.825 billion in 2024 to P9.948 billion next year.
This did not assuage the disappointment of many in the education sector, as Angara pointed out that the digital divide will further widen as students who do not have computers will find it hard to catch up. As a temporary option, the DepEd will explore partnerships with the private sector and non-government organizations to provide technology to public schools, the education secretary said.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said the budget cut will exacerbate the learning crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the budget cut was alarming.
“We’re seeing suspicious increases in presidential and congressional pork barrel and unprogrammed appropriations. These discretionary funds conveniently balloon as we approach the 2025 national elections. The timing and nature of these realignments clearly suggest political motivations rather than genuine concern for public welfare,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said.
All is not lost, however, as Ping Lacson pointed out. The ball is in the Office of the President, as only President Bongbong Marcos can countermand the bicam move by using his veto and line-item powers over the national budget bill.
