House augments DepEd budget by P800M

The House of Representatives has augmented the proposed budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) for next year by P800 million.

In the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) transmitted to the Senate last Tuesday, the lower house increased the appropriation for the department from P550.89 billion as submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to P551.69 billion.

The House leadership approved the recommendation of its 13-member small committee tasked to make amendments in the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, which was passed on third and final

reading last Sept. 20.

Of the additional budget, P650 million will go to DepEd’s maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) to boost the implementation of the government’s K-12 program, while the remaining P150 million will be used for the establishment of model day care centers nationwide under the Early Childhood Care and Development Council.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said they saw the insufficiency of funds of DepEd for the effective implementation of the K-12 program.

“We noticed that the purpose of K-12 to enable graduates to land in jobs has not been achieved because DepEd is still lacking in equipment, expertise and training of teachers. So if we want K-12 graduates to already get employment as electricians, automotive mechanics, computer technician or in the arts or agriculture, the funds are not enough,” he explained.

He also stressed the need to develop day care centers nationwide as he cited studies that show “that the younger the child is taught, the more effective learning is.”

Cayetano said the additional budget for DepEd in the GAB is just “initial” as it could even go high in the Senate or during the bicameral conference on the 2020 budget.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones told lawmakers during budget deliberations that DepEd plans to spend P8.9 billion for computerization program, P1.89 billion for human resource development, P2.7 billion for learning tools and equipment purchase, P963 million for purchase of textbooks and instructional materials and P1.2 billion for hiring of 10,000 new teachers next year.

She pointed out that programs to increase access to education will continue in 2020 with P36 billion allotted for basic education facilities and P19.9 billion for construction of new school buildings.

Of the proposed DepEd budget for next year, P417 billion will go to personnel services or an increase of P13 billion or 3.25 percent as compared to this year’s budget; P86.54 billion for MOOE or increase of P5 billion or 5.71 percent; and P46.8 billion for capital outlay or increase of P3 billion or 6.45 percent.

Briones, however, lamented that the budget of DepEd under the 2020 NEP submitted by the DBM might not be enough to improve the quality of education in the country.

The DepEd chief said they asked for P803.13 billion, but the DBM only recommended P550.89 billion for the department under the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for next year.

DepEd’s proposed budget for next year, if added to the proposed budget for state universities, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA, amounts to P673 billion – the biggest allocation in the 2020 NEP.

This is P8 billion or 1.2 percent higher than the government’s P665.1-billion budget for education this year.

Incentives for teachers

Meanwhile, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, chairman of the House committee on basic education and culture, revealed over the weekend that qualified public school teachers are set to receive P1,000 in World Teachers’ Day Incentive Benefit (WTDIB).

“The sum of P800 million meant to pay for the WTDIB of qualified public school teachers is provided for and fully funded in this year’s General Appropriations Act,” Romulo bared.

He said the DepEd has already issued the guidelines for the payment of the incentive benefit.

Under DepEd Order 026 issued last Sept. 19, the P1,000 WTDIB will be given not earlier than Oct. 5, which is celebrated across the globe as World Teachers’ Day, and “shall be granted to all public school teachers (as defined under the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers) who are in the service at DepEd as of Sept. 30, 2019.”

“The P800 million is for this year. Next year, another P900 million has been earmarked to pay for the WTDIB in the proposed 2020 national budget that the House recently approved,” Romulo said.

The bigger allocation anticipates that a greater number of teachers, to include new hires, would be entitled to receive the incentive benefit in 2020, Romulo said.

As of April this year, the DepEd already filled 806,000 teaching positions out of the 847,000 available.