President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s pledge to restore the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget has drawn attention to the bicameral conference committee members who approved the final version of the proposed PHP 6.352 trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2025. This budget included a PHP 10 billion cut from DepEd. The President’s announcement has been widely appreciated by many Filipinos, particularly less-privileged parents who wish to see their children better prepared for the digital age.
It was revealed that the PHP 10 billion slashed from DepEd’s budget was allocated for the computerization program, which aims to equip all public schools in the country with gadgets and software necessary for training teachers and students.
The President stated that reducing DepEd’s 2025 budget “…is contrary to all our policy directions when we talk about the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) development of our educational sector and then the continuing development.” This stance aligns with the constitutional mandate in Article XIV, Section 5(5), which states: “The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”
When asked about the alleged substantial budget insertions that have inflated the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget, the President assured that “We will look into the insertions in public works and see which ones are absolutely necessary. As for the others, let us check—they may be critical.”
Regarding the controversial zero-budget allocation for PhilHealth, the President expressed his support for the move. He explained, “I know people are worried—why did we reduce it? The truth is, the Department of Finance took back some of its (PhilHealth’s) reserves because they were not used for years. In other words, PhilHealth has sufficient budget.”
However, the decision to allocate zero budget subsidy for PhilHealth has drawn criticism from some senators and health professionals. They argue that the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), as mandated by the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law (Republic Act 11223), is designed to provide health insurance coverage to all Filipinos.
