The Senate will fight a possible move to slash the P1.38-trillion budget for education next year.
This consensus was reached among senators during a caucus held on Tuesday, according to Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Senate committee on basic education.
During the caucus, Aquino said he brought up the possibility that funding for education would be slashed in the bicameral conference committee, which is set to convene on Dec. 12 to 14 to deliberate on the P6.793-trillion national budget.
‘I said, you know, I’ve been hearing things like this. Other people even confirmed it: ‘Yes, there was word going around.’ I said we should stand firm that the education budget must not be reduced. In a way, this is our offering. This is the response to all the scandals that are happening,’ Aquino, speaking Filipino, said in an interview in the Senate on Wednesday.
‘It’s not like I asked them one by one. But yesterday, I think the consensus was that we will hold firm on the education budget, and even the health budget, if I’m not mistaken,’ he later added.
According to him, they have been hearing reports that the education budget would be reduced to fund other programs instead. But he did not say if this move would come from the House.
‘Basta. Basta [That’s it],’ Aquino simply said when pressed for an answer.
He nevertheless called on the public to be vigilant and strictly monitor the bicam meetings to ensure that the education budget remains intact.
‘If we want good governance, we need to monitor the bicam. If there’s a move or a motion to slash the education budget, we should immediately protest and make it clear that reducing the education budget is unacceptable,’ Aquino said.
Aquino pointed out that the Senate has allocated more than P65 billion for the construction of around 27,000 to 30,000 classrooms in 2026; a total of P37 billion for the implementation of the Free College Law; and another P30 billion for allowances of 1.5 million underprivileged but deserving students from public or private universities, including 490,000 learners from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
‘Over 27 million students in K-12 and tertiary education will receive assistance,’ said Aquino, principal sponsor of the Free College Law.
The budget for the school-based feeding program was likewise raised to P27 billion, the senator also said. /jpv