HOUSE lawmakers are pushing for increased funding for the Department of Education (DepEd) as Congress begins deliberations on the agency’s proposed 2027 budget, warning that cuts and funding gaps could undermine ongoing education reforms.
During a House Committee on Appropriations hearing, lawmakers questioned how the proposed allocation would affect efforts to improve foundational learning and accelerate learning recovery, including reforms recommended by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said the proposed budget remains at an early stage and noted that congressional additions helped increase the department’s previous allocation. He expressed hope that lawmakers would again augment the budget during deliberations.
ZERO FUNDING FOR ARAL
One of the biggest concerns raised was the zero allocation for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program under the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program.
DepEd is seeking ₱15.98 billion to sustain ARAL, including funding for teacher honoraria, tutor training and compensation, learning resources, the ARAL Summer Program, remediation consultations and program management.
The department is also requesting ₱50 million for the Bayang Bumabasa initiative.
The funding gap comes despite reported gains from ARAL. Angara said the number of struggling readers dropped from 6.7 million to 2.2 million, while learners reaching grade-level reading readiness increased from 3.3 million to 5.8 million during School Year 2025–2026.
EDCOM 2 also reported significant improvements among some of the country’s best-performing schools in learning recovery, with several recording gains of more than 30 percentage points in learner readiness.
“ARAL is showing us that targeted interventions can work,” said EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee.
“If a program is delivering results, now is not the time to pull the plug—we should be scaling it up and sustaining the investment,” he added.
NO NEW TEACHERS FUNDED FOR 2027
Lawmakers also raised alarm over the lack of funding for new teachers despite DepEd’s continuing staffing shortage.
Rep. Antonio Tinio asked Angara about the department’s teacher requirements. The education secretary said DepEd had identified a need for 14,274 additional teachers, based on its 2025 statistics.
DepEd is seeking ₱49.16 billion in supplemental funding to hire the teachers and approximately 59,000 non-teaching personnel, while also providing teacher benefits, training, laptops and other support.
But when asked whether the 2027 budget proposal includes funding for the teacher shortage, Angara confirmed that no new teacher positions are currently funded.
“We had 32,000 hired this year which is above the average hiring… But unfortunately wala pa po. But we’re hoping na madagdagan pa ito in the course of the budgetary process,” Angara said.
The staffing shortage comes as EDCOM 2 findings show that 42 percent of teachers work more than 50 hours a week, with much of their time spent on additional and program-related duties.
₱145-BILLION MORE NEEDED
DepEd has identified ₱145.19 billion in additional funding requirements beyond the proposed 2027 NEP to support priority education programs.
Among its requests are:
- ₱37.75 billion for 1,500 new classrooms, school repairs and rehabilitation, learning materials and disaster preparedness;
- ₱40.33 billion for school-based feeding, learner assistance and subsidies, health and mental health services, guidance programs and sports development; and
- ₱983.8 million for learners with special needs, Madrasah students, Indigenous Peoples learners and children in hard-to-reach communities.
Rep. Antonino Roman III, a member of the Congressional Alliance for Philippine Education (CAPE), also pressed for funding to support EDCOM 2 recommendations on foundational learning and the decentralization of basic education.
Roman emphasized the need to strengthen teachers’ capacity to use inquiry-based, facilitative and project-based approaches, while also expanding local government participation in education governance.
“I firmly believe in education and I hope that, sana, yung recommendation po ng EDCOM 2 na magawan po naman natin paraan so that we can move the needle, gain some traction over the years,” Roman said.
The hearing was also attended by CAPE members Reps. Ferdinand Hernandez, Bernadette Escudero and Miro Quimbo.
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