DepEd’s 2027 spending plan becoming ‘discretionary’ budget — watchdog

Inquirer file photo MANILA, Philippines – A budget watchdog warned on Monday that the Department of Education’s (DepEd) proposed spending plan for next year is becoming a “discretionary, centrally pooled” budget. In a statement, the Amplify Education Budget Initiative observed that some line items in DepEd’s proposed budget have been merged, including voucher programs and school facilities funding, muddling transparency and civil society oversight. “Vouchers, inclusive-education funds, and school-building money that once carried regional shares or stood as their own line items are now pooled in the Central Office, with no published list of what will be built or bought,” it said. Article continues after this advertisement The group warned that the agency’s central office would hold outsized discretion “over tens of billions of pesos,” a trend it said was worrying as the nation heads into an election cycle in 2028. “When the same money is merged into a broad Central Office pool, that trail goes dark, and the choice of who benefits shifts from a transparent formula to an official’s discretion,” it said. Some previously separate line items have now been merged into one, including the voucher program for senior high school students in the academic and trade tracks and the Educational Service Contracting project for junior high school students. Education Secretary Sonny Angara told reporters that the agency was prompted to combine the three programs for budget flexibility. “Without a special provision, you cannot transfer unused funds,” he said in Filipino. Article continues after this advertisement DepEd’s voucher programs aim to subsidize tuition for students enrolling in private schools as part of its efforts to ease congestion in public classrooms. “Merging three separate entitlements into one pooled line obscures how much reaches each type of learner and removes the per-program guardrails that let Congress and the public hold each subsidy to account,” the Amplify Education Budget Initiative said. Article continues after this advertisement How DepEd’s line-item proposal for the voucher programs was presented caused confusion during the agency’s Monday budget hearing, as Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice asked why a specific voucher program was zeroed out for next year. Education Secretary Sonny Angara clarified during Monday’s budget hearing that funding for subsidy projects was consolidated into a single line, with that program facing a P3 billion cut. “It’s reduced a bit, so that means [fewer] beneficiaries also,” he told lawmakers in mixed English and Filipino. READ: P3-B DepEd voucher cut may reduce student beneficiaries – Angara Those initiatives, now consolidated under the Government Assistance and Subsidies program, were earmarked P38.1 billion for next year. A copy of DepEd’s 2027 spending plan showed that the program had safeguards for disbursement, including a regular spending review by the State Assistance Council and publication of the list of participating schools on the agency’s website. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. The watchdog also raised concerns that funding for DepEd’s indigenous peoples education program and Madrasah program was lodged at the agency’s central office instead of the regional offices closest to the communities. /mcm