MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is looking to strip funding from controversial infrastructure projects to finance the Department of Education (DepEd)’s request for an additional P149.67 billion, including P15.6 billion for a remedial learning program that remains without a dedicated budget.
During a Senate finance subcommittee briefing on Friday, DepEd requested an additional P147.93 billion, while six attached agencies sought P1.74 billion.
The House of Representatives previously approved a P969.79-billion budget for the education sector, P6.17 billion lower than the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Senate finance subcommittee chairman Sen. Bam Aquino proposed redirecting funds from controversial infrastructure projects to education, including feeding programs and classrooms.
“In 2025, we gave zero budget to flood control. At that time, it was mired in controversy and still mired in controversy until now,” Aquino said. “Let’s strip those projects of their funding and put it into feeding programs and classrooms. Let’s make the welfare of our youth a priority in our budget.”
The proposal comes amid renewed efforts to address the country’s learning crisis and strengthen school security following recent incidents of violence on campuses that led to the deaths of students.
If approved, the additional funding sought by DepEd would cover personnel improvements, school security upgrades such as perimeter fences and metal detectors and the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program.
P15.6 billion for ARAL
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara specifically requested P15.6 billion for ARAL, which seeks to help students struggling with key competencies catch up with their peers.
“We know from international assessments and from national assessments that we have been doing very poorly over the years,” DepEd Undersecretary Carmela Oracion told the panel.
“So now we have a clear basis for a program that will provide remediation for reading, for mathematics and for science. Unfortunately, the law is unfunded,” he added.
Department of Budget and Management director Vivien Labastilla explained that ARAL received no dedicated funding because it lacks a specific line item in the budget.
The program is instead funded through an allocation attributed to the textbook budget, with teachers conducting tutorials compensated through overtime pay.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo criticized the arrangement, stressing the need for remedial classes, particularly in remote and rural communities.
“Your NEP has zero funding for this. Yet, you can see that in the past few years, our students have been performing poorly. They need this, especially those in remote areas and rural communities,” Tulfo said.
Buddy system
Meanwhile, DepEd is pursuing additional measures to address school safety and student well-being, including a peer support initiative and the involvement of barangay security personnel.
The department launched its “My Buddy” system to build safer and more supportive school environments as part of its mental health and psychosocial support framework.
The initiative encourages students to seek help early through structured buddy pairings or small peer groups modeled after a “big brother/big sister” arrangement.
Training tanods
In a related move, the Philippine National Police (PNP) will train barangay tanods to help secure schools and surrounding areas following an agreement between the Department of the Interior and Local Government and DepEd.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. directed police chiefs to conduct training programs to strengthen barangay tanods’ patrol skills and prepare them for other security-related duties. — Bella Cariaso, Emmanuel Tupas