Marcos eyes restoring P10-billion DepEd budget cut for 2025

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Monday he plans to restore the Department of Education (DepEd) budget after the bicameral conference committee reduced it by P10 billion. 

In an ambush interview, Marcos said he does not want to veto any line item in the budget, thus he is looking for ways to address the slash in the appropriations of the DepEd.

“‘Yung nawala na P10 billion [the P10 billion that was lost] comes from the computerization item. So we're working on it to make sure that we will restore it. I do not want to line item veto anything because that just gets in the way. So we're still talking about it and trying to find a way,” the President said in an ambush interview. 

“And I think we'll still be able to do it, to be able to do something. Maybe this is the first thing, hindi pa buo ang sagot ko pero sasabihin ko na sa inyo, tinatrabaho namin ‘yan [my answer is still not final but I’m telling you, we’re working on that],” he added.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara earlier lamented that the bulk of the budget cut amounting to P10 billion was supposed to be for the computerization program of the agency. 

Under the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), the Senate-proposed funding for DepEd was reduced by P12 billion and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) by P30 billion.

According to Marcos, the P12 billion is “only sufficient to maintain what we're already doing when in fact we have to do more.”

“I think it is contrary to all our policy direction when we talk about the STEM development of our educational sector and then the continuing development,” he said.

Angara, in response, said that he will coordinate with Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on how to address DepEd’s budget cut.

“Tayo’y nagpapasalamat nang lubos sa ating mahal na Pangulo dahil gagawan niya ng paraan ito," he said in an ambush interview.

(We are very grateful to our President because he is finding a way to address this.)

"Na-instruct niya na ako mag-coordinate sa mga ibang secretaries ng Gabinete, especially si Secretary Pangandaman ng Department of Budget kung papaano mapupunan ‘yung nawala dito sa 2025 budget ng DepEd,” he added.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara on the plan of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to restore the budget of the Department of Education after the bicam reduced it by P12 billion. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/xbMyTQcuyF

— Giselle Ombay (@giselleombay_) December 16, 2024

  (He instructed me to coordinate with the other Cabinet secretaries, especially Budget Secretary Pangandaman on how to restore the 2025 budget cut of DepEd.)

Angara said there are other ways on how to restore the budget aside from vetoing any line item in the budget.

“May iba’t ibang paraan. Pwedeng through savings, pwedeng i-augment basta may existing item. Pwede rin through the unprogrammed appropriations, that’s another one, pero ‘yun ay depende kung may nalikom na pera mula sa ibang fund sources,” he explained.'

(There are different ways. It can be through savings, it can be augmented as long as there is an existing item. It can also be through the unprogrammed appropriations, that's another one, but that depends on whether money is sourced from other sources of funds.)

Senator Grace Poe, head of the Senate finance committee, acknowledged the reductions but pointed out that the overall budget for  DepEd in 2025 was higher than that of 2024, reflecting the Senate’s continued commitment to education.

Poe explained that resources were prioritized for human capital, doubling the budget for the teaching supplies allowance from P4.825 billion in 2024 to P9.948  billion in 2025.

“We prioritized human resources. Ang kaguruan at mga estudyante ang puso at diwa ng sektor ng edukasyon, hindi ang mga kompyuter. This is why we  more than doubled the budget for teaching supplies allowance from  P4.825 billion in 2024 to P9.948 billion next year,” she said.

Poe said the lawmakers also took note of a report of the Commission on Audit that only 50% of the 2023 budget for the Computerization Program was utilized.

"We must see to it that all of the program’s systemic problems, such as procurement delays, would first be addressed before allocating the corresponding budget increase,” she added.—LDF/RF, GMA Integrated News