THE proposed 2026 national budget will earmark 4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for education, or roughly ₱1 trillion, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Monday ahead of the executive branch’s submission of the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) later this month.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said the upcoming budget will be an “education budget,” in line with the Constitution’s mandate to give the sector the highest priority in government spending.
The United Nations recommends that governments allocate at least 4–6 percent of GDP and 15–20 percent of total public expenditure to education to safeguard public schooling amid fiscal constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic challenges.
In 2025, the Department of Education (DepEd) saw a ₱12-billion budget cut, which severely affected its computerization program.
Gatchalian said the 2026 allocation will aim to help the sector “catch up” and address long-standing challenges, particularly in early-grade literacy and numeracy.
The senator added that he will work closely with Education Secretary Sonny Angara, noting that both served in the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), which assessed the state of Philippine education. “We know the problems, but we need to support him with a budget,” Gatchalian said.
He also underscored funding for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program and proposed reviving the national-local government cost-sharing scheme for classroom construction.
DepEd will also be empowered to pursue “all modes” of building classrooms—through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), counterparting with local governments, or working with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)—as long as construction targets are met.