GENERAL TRIAS CITY, Cavite — Education Secretary Sonny Angara hailed the passage of the 2026 national budget, describing it as a ‘transformational’ milestone for the sector.
In an interview following the blessing and turnover of a new school building at Santiago Elementary School on Tuesday, January 20, Angara emphasized that the 2026 General Appropriations Act is a vital step to establish a ‘world-class’ education system.
“Matagal nang itinutulak ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos ang truly transformational education budget. Napakalaking tulong nito sa adhikain ng ating pangulo na maging world class ang quality ng educational system natin.”
To recall, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently signed the P6.793-trillion national budget.
Angara noted that the 2026 budget allocation for education comprised four percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which will allow funding for reforms and programs for the Department of Education (DepEd).
“Umabot tayo ng four percent for the first time of GDP or yung size ng ekonomiya ng bansa.”
With its historic funding, DepEd already has a laundry list of targets, including hiring more teachers and non-teaching personnel, and solving the classroom backlog.
“We need to hire more teachers, we need to hire admin officers to help our teachers so they can concentrate on teaching. We need to build more classrooms, we need to build learning facilities dahil ‘yung iba ay naluluma na rin po.”
With one of the highest enrollment rates in the country, CALABARZON faces challenges in classroom shortage to meet the needs of its students and personnel.
DepEd is also working with the private sector through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in constructing more school buildings around the country.
“Region 4-A is one of the hotbeds of classroom deficit, so to speak, one of the highest. That’s why, in pushing the PPP, we have included region 4-A. We are prioritizing LGUs (local government units) in the NCR, Region 4A, 3 (Central Luzon), and Region 7 (Central Visayas).”
Beyond the 2026 national budget, Angara assured that the DepEd will continue hiring more teaching and non-teaching personnel and building more classrooms in the years to come.
“Pero hindi lang sapat na isang taon lang natin gagawin yan. Kailangan sunod-sunod, yung momentum hindi tumigil, at taon-taon yan ang gagawin.” (PB-PIA CALABARZON)