Vice President Sara Duterte, who concurrently sits as Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary, met with the officials of the agency on Wednesday, July 6, for a budget review.
The meeting, held at the Office of the Secretary (OSec) Conference Room in DepEd Central Office located in Pasig City, was led by Duterte and attended by the agency’s officials. They discussed concerns about DepEd’s finances in preparation for the agency’s 2023 budget.
Based on the photos released by DepEd, the meeting was also attended by Undersecretary for Finance Anne Sevilla, former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing, and former House Appropriations Chair and Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab.
While media were allowed to attend the meeting, DepEd advised that it is “strictly for securing footage" only and that “no interviews” will be allowed.
In 2022, the budget of DepEd --- including its attached agencies --- was P629.8 billion.
Based on the available data, DepEd has 60,428 schools; 28,033,530 learners; and 1,001,590 teaching and non-teaching personnel.