A group of education workers on Wednesday, November 19, rejected the government’s claim of a “record-breaking” P1.28-trillion education budget for 2026, calling it misleading and insufficient to address the deepening crisis in the country’s public school system.

In a statement, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) announcement exaggerates progress while ignoring the massive deficits that continue to burden teachers and learners nationwide.

“Hindi sapat ang record-high budget kung record-high pa rin ang mga kakulangan (A record-high budget is not enough if the shortages remain at record-high levels)," Bernardo said.

"Paano mo ipagmamalaki ang 4.1 percent of GDP kung hindi naman nito tutugunan ang kagyat at malaking pangangailangan ng ating mga guro at paaralan? (How can you boast about 4.1 percent of GDP if it doesn’t address the urgent and significant needs of our teachers and schools?),” she added.

According to ACT, the government’s own figures reveal glaring gaps in basic education needs, including 165,000 classrooms; 150,000 teachers; at least two education support personnel in all 48,000 public schools; and millions of textbooks and learning materials.

The salary of Teacher I remains far below the P36,000 family living wage, the group stressed.

ACT reiterated its demand to raise the entry-level salary of teachers to P50,000, arguing that pay levels have failed to keep pace with rising living costs and have weakened the teaching profession.

Bernardo noted that the planned construction of 19,000 to 27,000 classrooms barely dents the backlog. Even more troubling, she said, is the chronic shortage of personnel.

“Classrooms are useless without enough teachers and education support staff to run them,” ACT stressed.

ACT also criticized the administration for repeatedly claiming to prioritize teachers while refusing to grant substantial pay hikes.

The group pointed out that much of the supposed education budget increase was sourced from realignments within the DPWH flood control budget, which is now under scrutiny due to corruption allegations.

While the DBM asserts that the 2026 budget meets UNESCO’s recommended 4–6 percent of GDP for education spending, ACT argued that invoking the 4 percent benchmark is misleading.

“Four percent is not a milestone. It is the bare minimum. Developed countries invest far more because they recognize that education is not a cost but a social right,” Bernardo said.

She also accused government agencies of using education funding as a convenient talking point to “cover up corruption” and project a false narrative of prioritization.

ACT said the government must confront the “long-neglected and severely underfunded” state of basic education instead of issuing celebratory statements.

Bernardo noted that what the country needs is not a "record-high press release, but a record-high response to the education crisis."

The group announced it will mobilize thousands of teachers in a nationwide sit-down strike on November 28 to protest the corruption scandal and demand a doubled education budget and significant salary increases for teachers.