Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, December 1, reiterated his push for a P300-million additional allocation for the procurement of textbooks and other learning materials in the proposed 2025 national budget.
The P300-million was added to the P12.4-billion originally allocated for textbooks and related paraphernalia by the Senate Committee and Finance, and approved by the Upper Chamber consequently under its version of the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
The bicameral conference committee is currently threshing out the different version of the House of Representatives and the Senate on the GAB 2025.
“I thank the Senate Committee on Finance for approving the additional P300 million for the procurement of textbooks and other instructional materials,” Gatchalian said during his interpellation on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) and its attached agencies.
However, the lawmaker said there is also a pressing need to streamline the procurement process to ensure that all students receive complete sets of textbooks.
Gatchalian noted that only 27 out of 90 textbook titles were procured for Grades 1 to 10 since 2012 up to last year, 2023.
The senator cited the Year One report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). The Commission’s report also found that only learners from Grades 5 and 6 have complete sets of textbooks for all subjects.
Furthermore, EDCOM II, in its report, flagged the low budget utilization for textbooks and other instructional materials. Of the P12.6 billion allotted from 2018 to 2022, only about P4.47 billion (35.3 percent) was obligated and P951.9 million (7.5 percent) was disbursed.
“Mahalagang dagdagan natin ang pondo para sa mga textbooks at magamit ito nang maayos upang matiyak na magkakaroon ng aklat ang bawat mag-aaral (It’s important to provide additional funding for textbooks and that this be used to make sure each student will have access to books),” Gatchalian said.
“Patuloy nating isusulong ang mga reporma tungo sa dekalidad na edukasyon (Let’s continue pursuing reforms geared towards improving the quality of education),” he stressed.