The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) increased its 2025 funding for education but reduced its cash assistance allocation or ayuda for poor Filipinos.
Of the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for next year, P977.6 billion, or over one-sixth of the total, will be poured into education.
This education budget is higher than the sector’s P968.9 billion allocation in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
On the other hand, the total allocated budget for cash assistance or “ayuda” is P253.378 billion, which provides financial support to vulnerable sectors of society.
This is lower than the total appropriations for ayuda or cash assistance programs, which amounted to P318.5 billion this year.
It is also lower than the P357.5 billion allocated for financial assistance programs across agencies in the General Appropriations Act four years ago.
Financial assistance for this sector includes various programs across several agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Rice Farmers Assistance, Department of Health's (DOH) Cancer Assistance Fund, Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) TUPAD Program, Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) 4Ps, and fuel subsidies for the transport sector.
On Oct. 10, DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman stated that the 2025 national budget prioritizes social services, particularly education, with its budget accounting for 15.4 percent of the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“As mandated by the constitution, the education sector [composed of the Department of Education (DepEd), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)] will remain as top priority with a total budget of P977.6 billion,” Pangandaman said.
According to the DBM, the budget will fund DepEd’s MATATAG Agenda for basic education and provide increased allocations for key programs like the school-based feeding program.
Pangandaman assured that the government's education agenda will prioritize access to quality education through initiatives like Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education and Education Assistance and Subsidies.
The department further said that the sector’s budget, aligned with the country’s six-year development plan, focuses on boosting human capital development through significant investments in education, health, and social protection. (Derco Rosal)