Escudero: DepEd's previous unspent funds can be used for its 2025 budget hike

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. can increase the 2025 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) by using billions of pesos worth of unspent funds from previous years, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero said.

In a text message, Escudero pointed to DepEd's "savings or unspent items" in its 2024 budget that Marcos could tap to hike the reduced 2025 budget of the department.

"The President can augment any item in the budget from savings or unspent items in the budget... Madami naman po source to augment (There are a lot of sources for budget augmentation). DepEd and its Secretary should know because the submissions for the budget deliberations on their own dismal fund utilization came from them," Escudero said.

According to Escudero, the following are the "good example of savings or unspent items" in the DepEd:

• "P10.034 billion that DepEd has not obligated, much less spent, since it was allocated 13.068 billion in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) of 2022 for its computerization program, which, by the way will revert to the National Treasury by the end of 2024"
• "P10.2 billion that DepEd has also not obligated nor spent out of the 20.4 billion Congress allocated in the 2023 GAA still for for its computerization program; or maybe"
• "P15.9 billion (out of the 18.08 billion) that DepEd has also not spent from the 2024 budget also for its computerization program."

For her part, Senator Imee Marcos said that there could be uncertainty in the availability of savings.

"In the event na may savings, puwede namang dagdagan, pero it’s a big if. May savings ba talaga? Sa dinami-rami, sa limpak limpak na salapi na nilagay sa unprogrammed, nakasisigurado ba tayo?" Senator Marcos said in an ambush interview.

(You can add if there are savings, but that's a big if. Are there any savings? The unprogrammed appropriations have been allocated a substantial amount of money. How certain are we?)

"Hindi tayo nakasisigurado. Samantalang yung krisis natin sa edukasyon, yun ang talagang walang kaduda-duda," she added.

(We don't know for sure. However, there is no doubt that there is a crisis in education.)

Senator Marcos was among the lawmakers who expressed dismay over the final version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

She questioned several provisions, particularly the controversial Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program or AKAP, zero subsidy for Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the increase in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways to P1.1 trillion, and the reduction in the budget of the Department of Education, particularly in its computerization program.

Last week, former Senate finance committee chairman and now DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara expressed dismay over the P12-billion cut in the agency's budget under the final version of the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

According to Angara, the majority of the P12 billion was for the computerization program of the DepEd.

Several senators also expressed concern over the reduction in the proposed budget for DepEd in 2025, warning of possible issues in the constitutionality of the General Appropriations Bill.

The 1987 Constitution states that "[t]he State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education."

Senate finance committee chairperson Grace Poe defended the 2025 national budget and insisted that education remains a top priority.

In an interview on Monday, Marcos said he plans to restore budget cuts in the DepEd after the bicameral conference committee reduced the allocation by P10 billion. — VDV/VBL, GMA Integrated News