Bicameral panel approves P961.3B DepEd budget for 2026

Members of the Senate and House of Representatives who convened on Saturday to reconcile the differing versions of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 approved an allocation of P961.3 billion for the Department of Education (DepEd) next year.

During the first day of the bicameral conference committee hearing, which was live-streamed, lawmakers approved an P86.8-billion budget hike for the DepEd. 

“Under the Department of Education, the total increase would be P86.8 billion from the NEP (National Expenditure Program) level… from P874.5 billion in NEP, the final number [would be] P961.3 billion,” said House appropriations committee chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st District Representative Mikaela Suansing.

Broken down, Suansing said that under the basic education facilities program, there would be “a total increase of P57.3 billion… so there will be 35,000 classrooms that will be constructed in 2026.”

“Under textbooks and instructional materials, we are increasing it by P8.3 billion from the NEP level of P11.1 [billion] to a final number of P19.5 [billion],” she said, adding that the funding hike “would help fill the shortage of books and other items in our schools.”

For the school-based feeding program, the lawmaker said the budget would go up to P13.9 billion from P11.7 billion, which would translate to “an increase from 120 days to 180 days for our students.” 

Education must be given top budgetary priority, according to the Constitution.

The House version of the 2026 national budget allotted P1.28 trillion to the education sector, which is composed of the DepEd, state universities and colleges (SUCs), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The Senate version is slightly higher at P1.37 trillion. — VBL, GMA Integrated News