Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Monday expressed hopes for a promising year ahead as the sector received a historic budget to advance education reforms.
Angara made the statement after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed the PHP6.79 trillion 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), with the Department of Education (DepEd) securing PHP1.015 trillion in funds, marking the first time the Philippines reached the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) benchmark for education spending.
“We are looking at a very promising 2026 for the education sector,” Angara said in a statement, citing acceleration of program and support deliveries, classroom constructions, and intensified digitalization.
“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa ating mahal na Pangulo (We thank our beloved President), President Bongbong Marcos, sa kaniyang patuloy na suporta sa ating mga mag-aaral at mga guro – dahil dito, mas magiging epektibo at mas mararamdaman ang mga reporma natin ngayong taon (for his steadfast support to our learners and teachers – because of this, the reforms that we’ve been pushing will be more effective and felt even more this year),” he said.
Under the record-high fund, the DepEd is allotted PHP85.3 billion to address the perennial problem of classroom backlog.
Of this budget, PHP65 billion will be used to construct 24,964 new classrooms, while PHP7.7 billion will be utilized for the repair and rehabilitation of existing school buildings.
As part of the agency’s commitment to a more transparent and faster implementation of school building programs, DepEd will actively pursue partnerships with local government units and private sector partners through Public-Private Partnerships.
In terms of production of textbooks and learning materials, the agency has been granted PHP19.5 billion following a significant uptick in procurement of textbook titles – a 289-percent increase in a year.
The DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) has also been allocated PHP10.6 billion to ensure reliable internet connectivity and digital tools in all public schools nationwide.
For the hiring of DepEd personnel, about PHP42.4 billion has been earmarked to cover 32,916 teaching positions, 6,000 Principal I items, and 10,000 School Counselor Associates.
About PHP2.2 billion is allocated for the hiring of 11,268 Administrative Officer II positions; PHP1 billion for 5,000 Project Development Officer I; and PHP4.6 billion for the training of teachers for effective teaching methodologies.
Moreover, Angara emphasized that delivering quality education must go hand in hand with ensuring the health and well-being of learners.
With this, Congress granted PHP25.6 billion for the implementation of the Expanded School-Based Feeding Program, which is set to benefit 4.6 million learners nationwide.
Under the new feeding program, the agency targets to benefit all Kindergarten and Grade 1 learners and severely wasted and wasted Grade 2 to 6 learners in public schools. (PNA)
