Senator Bam Aquino on Thursday expressed full support for Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda following her election as the new chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
Revealing that Legarda had invited him to serve as the committee’s vice chairman, Aquino committed to ensuring a seamless transition by sharing his office’s legislative groundwork.
“She’s (Legarda) been working in the education space for a long time and she asked me to be vice chairman. I told her our office will turn over all the research, all the studies, all the bills that we’ve prepared, and I hope that she will continue what we started,” Aquino said in a statement.
Aquino challenged the new leadership to lobby for an expanded education fund, building momentum from the historic ₱1.34 trillion allocation secured under the 2026 national budget.
He emphasized that sustained financial backing is non-negotiable for meaningful educational reforms.
“Dapat madagdagan pa ang budget ng edukasyon sa susunod na taon,” he said.
The education budget should be increased further next year.
During his stint as committee chair, Aquino championed critical legislative measures, including the Class-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, which passed its third and final reading. The bill seeks to wipe out the country’s 166,000-classroom backlog by empowering capable local government units (LGUs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) to build facilities according to Department of Education specifications.
Before vacating the post, Aquino also sponsored the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) and Last Mile Schools Act, alongside the Curriculum Flexibility Act—both of which currently await the President’s signature.
Furthermore, he steered the passage of the Basic Education Voucher Program Act and was in the process of sponsoring the National Nutrition Program Act.
Aquino’s removal from the chairmanship follows a recent Senate leadership shake-up, which led to his alignment with the 11-member minority bloc spearheaded by Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.