ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro has filed a House Joint Resolution (HJR) seeking a P32-billion budget to be allocated to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of public schools public schools, state universities, and colleges (SUCs) in order to brace for the return of face-to-face classes.

As per the HJR, the P32 billion will be allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and SUCs in an attempt to usher in the return of face-to-face classes. The amount is an increase of P1,103,277,000 versus 2022’s MOOE.

Under the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA), P30,061,113,000 was given to the DepEd for the MOOE of public schools while P835,610,000 was allocated to the DOST for the Philippine Science High School.

As per the author's estimates, the proposed P32 billion budget is enough to equip public schools, SUCs with “appropriate physical requirements including classrooms with adequate ventilation and air filtration, basic utilities like water, and facilities for handwashing and sanitation".

"It is high time that the government prioritizes education. With the Department of Education's target of having 100 percent face-to-face classes by November this year, the government must ensure schools are capable of equipping themselves for the safe return of 100 percent in-person schooling. The demand of our teachers is to double the budget for MOOE of schools,” Castro said in a statement on Monday, July 7.

"Hindi na natin hahayaan na maulit ang ginawa ng nakaraang administrasyon na iniasa na lamang sa diskarte ng mga teachers at principal na pagkasyahin ang kanilang napakaliit na budget para sa pagsisigurado na ang kanilang mga paaralan ay ligtas at nakakapag deliver ng kalidad na edukasyon sa ating mga mag-aaral (We will not let what the previous administration did happen again wherein they relied on teachers’ and principals’ own efforts to stretch their meagre budgets to ensure that their schools are safe and able to deliver quality education to students),” she continued.

Meanwhile, the teacher-lawmaker also filed a House Bill (HB) titled the Education as Priority in the National Appropriations (EDNA) Act which wants to set aside at least six percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to be allocated towards education.

Castro, in her explanatory note in the HB, cited a World Bank study which said that from 1980 to 2020, the Philippines’ public expenditure never broke 4.4 percent. This, even as standards set by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called for at least six percent of the GDP be set aside for education.