Pisay's lower budget for 2024 to leave regional infra unfunded, says exec

The Philippine Science High School (PSHS) or "Pisay" is seen to suffer over P200-million cut in its budget in 2024 based on the appropriations submitted by the Department of Budget and Management to Congress.

The slash — from P2.94 billion in 2023 to P2.7 billion in 2024 — will affect infrastructure projects planned for the regional campuses of the country's prime secondary science school, PSHS Executive Director Lilia Habacon said.

“The number one program that will be affected by this is our learning management system... because it is cloud-based...now, we can no longer sustain the operation of the learning management system,” Habacon told the House appropriations panel during the deliberation of its proposed budget.

Habacon said the budget cut will also leave infrastructure projects in newer PSHS campuses in Calabarzon, (Region 4A) Mimaropa (Region 4B), Soccsksargen (Region 12), Zamboanga and Caraga (Region 13), as well as items for teaching personnel in those campuses, unfunded.

“Next, we have infrastructure projects here which are yet to be completed. These are our campuses which were established just in 2014. These [unfunded projects] include gymnasiums, dormitories, multi-purpose halls,” she said.

The PSHS system is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology.

During the questioning of Kabataan party-list representative Raoul Manuel, Habacon said the PSHS initially proposed a P4.2 billion budget for next year, but the DBM only granted it only P2.7 billion.

Manuel said that he will ask the DBM to explain the PSHS budget cut during plenary deliberations.—LDF, GMA Integrated News