More cities spend less than P1K/student

MANILA, Philippines - More than half of the 88 cities in the country had  less than P1,000 to spend per public school pupil last year or below the average  revenue a city could use per student,  according to the government’s latest TaxWatch campaign advertisement released yesterday.

Based on data collated by the Department of Finance, the cities that spent the most per student had some of the wealthiest households.  Makati topped spending at P16,404 per pupil followed by Pasay (P9,794), Tagaytay (P8,354), San Juan (P8,188), and Santa Rosa (P6,681), and MandMaluyong (P6,004).

The lower per-student spending was still prevalent in several cities despite them having better leverage than other local governments.   

“The allowable real property tax rate is higher (up to two percent) and the basis for such tax is broader due to high-value properties brought about by commercial and economic activities in cities,” the DOF pointed out.

Schools are funded primarily by property tax revenue. As a result, high-income districts get a lot more because of the difference in property tax revenues.

In addition to real property tax, cities also collect a one percent levy, known an the Special Education Fund (SEF), to be used for the “operations, maintenance of public schools, construction and repair of school buildings, facilities and equipment, educational research, purchase of books and sports development” as required by the Local Government Code.