MANILA, Philippines – With the Senate now focusing on passing its own version of the 2027 budget bill, the Department of Education (DepEd) is seeking support for an additional P147.93 billion to implement its programs next year. 

This comes as the DepEd only got P967.23 billion in the House of Representatives’ version of the 2027 general appropriations bill (GAB). This is lower than the P976 billion under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP). 

Senator Bam Aquino, who led a budget briefing as chairperson of the Senate finance subcommittee B last Friday, October 16, said his colleagues want an education budget that would reach 4% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Here are some programs that senators may provide higher funding for next year:

School-based feeding program

Among Aquino’s priorities is putting more money into the DepEd’s school-based feeding program. It has an P11.43-billion allocation in the House’s GAB — the same level in the NEP — but it is significantly lower than the P25.7 billion in the 2026 national budget.

In his presentation, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the DepEd is seeking P16.82 billion more to at least implement a 180-day feeding cycle for kindergarten and Grade 1. 

Senators have a more ambitious move: to provide universal feeding from kindergarten through Grade 3, with a higher unit cost of P30 per meal from the current P25, and a longer cycle of 200 days.

According to DepEd projections, that proposed setup would need an additional P46.65 billion. 

Aquino had asked for budget scenarios as a bicameral conference committee is set to be convened in the coming weeks for the proposed Expanded National Nutrition Program Act.

“This is one of the biggest reforms that we can do. And if we are able to implement it well, I expect that in three to six years our learning gap problems will be mitigated,” Aquino said in a mix of English and Filipino.

ARAL Program

Senators are also expected to inject more funds into the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program as part of efforts to address the country’s learning crisis.

During the House deliberations, Angara had pointed out that there was zero funding for the ARAL Program in the NEP. In the House’s GAB, lawmakers only provided P255.6 million for the compensation of external tutors and P94.4 million for program management.

Angara said the DepEd needs P15.63 billion for program implementation next year. Asked for a minimum amount, he cited at least P8.9 billion, or the same level in the 2026 budget.

Senators criticized the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for not funding the ARAL Program in the first place.

Senate President Win Gatchalian said it was “shocking.” Senator Joel Villanueva called it “stupid.”

Senator Erwin Tulfo said the DBM must review the ARAL Law as it states that funds for the program should be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

DBM Director Vivien Labastilla explained that while there is no line item for the ARAL Program, funding for it is included in the budget for textbooks and other instructional materials and the DepEd’s basic education curriculum.

Angara maintained it was not. “I think the confusion stems from the fact that they are assuming that it’s already subsumed in our regular budget,” he added.

School safety

Aquino also said another priority is funding programs related to school safety, especially since the Senate already passed a bill that institutionalizes a comprehensive school safety framework.

Aside from providing equipment like CCTV camera and metal detectors, the Senate is also eyeing child protection training for parents and student leaders.

The DepEd has a total request of P8.18 billion for school safety and security. The House only provided P500 million to hire security guards.

The full breakdown of the DepEd’s budget request to the Senate is found below. Those highlighted in green are items that were given funding in the House’s GAB, while those in yellow are new appeals or items with a higher requested amount compared to the list previously presented to the House.

Classroom construction progress 

Updates on classroom construction are also expected to be tackled in the plenary. During the briefing, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported that there have been failed biddings on their end.

Under the 2026 national budget, around P65.4 billion was allocated to build 18,960 classrooms this year. Of the amount, P21.45 billion was lodged under the agreement between the DPWH and the DepEd to construct 6,000 classrooms.

DPWH Undersecretary Lara Esquibil told senators that only around P1.87 billion, covering the construction of 533 classrooms, have prospective bidders, while the agency is still advertising P7 billion worth of projects, or around 2,000 classrooms.

“They’ve been concerned with the costing of classrooms with fuel price increases,” Esquibil said.

Aquino suggested transferring the remaining funding of nearly P13 billion to the DepEd so that local government units (LGUs) can instead lead the construction projects.

From the target 10,671 classrooms under the LGU-led construction modality, Angara said over 8,000 classrooms are already in the procurement stage.

Aquino will defend the DepEd’s budget in the plenary on November 24. – Rappler.com