QUEZON CITY, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved the realignment of ₱8.072 billion under the proposed 2027 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to support various educational programs and establish new security measures across campuses nationwide.
During a meeting on Thursday, October 1, the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) of the House Committee on Appropriations greenlit the adjustments, which cover basic, higher, and technical-vocational education sectors.
The decision comes in direct response to three deadly campus shooting incidents reported across the country since June 2026, including fatal attacks in Tacloban City, Zamboanga City, and South Cotabato.
Rep. Mika Suansing (Nueva Ecija, 1st District), who chaired the panel discussions, pointed out that the executive branch’s original ₱7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocated no funding for campus security.
”Alam naman po natin ang mga nagaganap sa atin pong mga paaralan, at hindi man po natin gustuhin, pero kailangan po natin maging handa sa mga pagkakataon kung mayroon mang mangyayari tulad ng school shootings, violence, and potential threats for the safety of our students,” Suansing said.
”Currently, school safety and security has zero funding in the NEP — wala pong nakalagay sa budget sa NEP para tumugon sa pangangailangan ng ating mga estudyante pagdating sa seguridad,” she added.
”Given the urgency of the situation at kung gaano kahalaga ito, I would like to put forth for the consideration of the BARSc to allocate ₱500 million for school safety and security,” the lawmaker said.
Under the Department of Education (DepEd), the panel realigned a total of ₱1.952 billion. Beyond the ₱500 million dedicated to safety and security, the allocation includes ₱952 million for basic education infrastructure, ₱350 million for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, ₱75 million for special needs education, ₱50 million for Madrasah education, and ₱25 million for indigenous learning programs.
For higher education, BARSc approved ₱4.68 billion in additions under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and state universities. This includes ₱2.102 billion for the Tertiary Education Subsidy, ₱1.766 billion for the Tulong Dunong Program, ₱456 million for state university projects, ₱275 million for research through the UP Resilience Institute’s Project NOAH, ₱70 million for the UP Center for Education and Development, and ₱15 million for the UP Diliman Institute of Mathematics.
The subcommittee also directed ₱1.44 billion to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), allocating ₱966.6 million for work scholarship programs and ₱469.2 million for employment training initiatives.
Suansing emphasized that the education cluster was the first to finish its budget review, reaffirming the legislature’s commitment to prioritizing the sector.
”With that po, we adhere to our commitment. Again, we have repeatedly said that on the part of the House of Representatives, we want to make sure that the education cluster gets the biggest budgetary share in our budget,” Suansing stated.