Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Monday, September 7, appealed to lawmakers for supplemental funding to address critical gaps in learning recovery, school infrastructure, and safety as he unveiled the Department of Education’s (DepEd) proposed ₱975.96-billion budget for fiscal year 2027 before the House Committee on Appropriations.
While the outlay under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) will sustain basic operations, key initiatives remain unfunded.
Angara noted that while DepEd built momentum from its previous historic ₱1.015-trillion budget, further investments are crucial:
“For next year, we aim to build on the progress we have achieved over the past four years.”
“Our FY 2027 budget proposal builds on the reforms we have already started and focuses on key investments needed to further improve the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of basic education for every Filipino learner.”
Budget Distribution and Decreases
The bulk of the proposed budget goes to Personnel Services at ₱766.74 billion—an 8.64% increase to support salaries and career advancement. However, other major operational allocations faced steep reductions:
- Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE): Proposed at ₱174.32 billion (down 15.94%).
- Capital Outlay: Dropped to ₱32.34 billion (down 67.49%).
- Attached Agencies: A total of ₱2.56 billion will be split among six attached agencies, led by the National Museum of the Philippines (₱1.56 billion) and the Teacher Education Council (₱360.28 million).
Key line items in the NEP proposal include ₱17.31 billion to construct over 4,900 classrooms, ₱12.09 billion for the Expanded Career Progression system covering 135,000 educators, ₱11.43 billion for the School-Based Feeding Program targeting 3.69 million learners, and ₱38.12 billion for private school vouchers and subsidies.
Unfunded Priorities and Supplemental Funding Request
Because several core programs were excluded from the NEP ceiling, Angara requested an additional ₱145.19 billion for DepEd and ₱1.74 billion for its attached agencies.
“Ito po ang mga priority interventions na hindi na-accommodate sa FY 2027 NEP level budget ngunit mahalaga upang mas mapabilis ang ating mga reporma at mas mapabuti ang learning outcomes ng ating mga mag-aaral,” Angara explained.
Among the major unfunded initiatives is the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, for which DepEd is seeking ₱15.98 billion. Despite receiving no funding allocation under the proposed 2027 NEP, the initiative significantly reduced struggling readers from 6.7 million to 2.2 million during School Year 2025–2026.
DepEd’s supplemental request also seeks ₱49.16 billion to hire 14,274 teachers and roughly 59,000 non-teaching staff, ₱37.75 billion for classroom rehabilitation and security measures (including security guards and scanners), and ₱40.33 billion to expand health, feeding, and subsidy programs.