Aiming to strengthen accountability and participatory governance in the country’s schools, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday, September 30, officially announced the launch of Project Bukas—a first-of-its-kind transparency initiative that makes education data publicly accessible.

In a statement, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that the initiative will help ensure the government’s “historic investment” in education benefits Filipino learners.

“Gusto natin sa panig ng DepEd, dapat transparent, pinapakita natin saan ginagastos ang pera ng taumbayan (What we want from the side of DepEd is transparency—we should show where the people's money is being spent),” Angara said.

He stressed that for the first time in DepEd’s history, data will be made available to the public. “Kung anong alam namin sa Central Office, sa regional office, yun din ang malalaman ng publiko (Whatever we know at the Central Office and the regional offices, the public will also know),” he added.

The program’s launch was held at Parañaque High School on September 29.

Guided by President Marcos’s governance agenda, DepEd said the project will provide open access to datasets on enrollment, student performance, school resources, and spending—information that has never before been released at the school and division levels.

For the initial rollout this September, DepEd said Regions I, III, VIII, IX, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) will publish school-level data, while other regions will release both school- and division-level datasets.

The available information will include:

- Results of national assessments (ELLNA, NAT Grade 6, CRLA)

- Enrollment figures

- Number of schools per region

- Access to electricity, water, and WASH facilities

- School inventories and utilization of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE)

- Student-teacher ratios and classroom ratios

Angara noted that beyond transparency, Project Bukas also aims to serve as a platform for collaboration with local governments, NGOs, and private sector partners to strengthen DepEd programs such as the National Learning Recovery Program (ARAL), the School-Based Feeding Program, and the Adopt-A-School initiative.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who attended the launch, said the initiative reflects the administration’s broader commitment to good governance.

She noted that DepEd and its attached agencies have been allocated a proposed budget of ₱928.5 billion for 2026, equivalent to 4.1 percent of GDP, pending congressional approval.

Through Project Bukas, DepEd envisions a culture of shared responsibility in education—where communities, development partners, and government agencies work together to improve learning outcomes and ensure that every peso spent on education is transparent and accountable.

“Pero hindi ito kakayanin ng DepEd lamang. Kailangan natin ang LGUs, NGOs, private sector, at lahat ng partners upang mas mapabuti ang mga programa para sa ating mga bata. Sana sama-sama tayo rito (But DepEd cannot do this alone. We need the LGUs, NGOs, private sector, and all partners to improve the programs for our children. Hopefully, we can all work together on this),” Angara said.