VP Sara Duterte On P150M Confidential Funds Of DepEd: 'Education Is Intertwined With National Security'

In a recent statement, Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte defended the P150 million confidential funds for the department. 

“Education is intertwined with national security. Napakahalaga na we mold children who are patriotic, children who will love and defend our country,” she said.

VP Sara also added, “With regards to the confidential funds, we leave it to the decision of the Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Basta kami, nag-propose kami, iniwan na namin sa kanila ang decision.”

When asked about the details of the P150M confidential funds for the Department of Education, VP Sara answered, “There is a joint memorandum circular regarding the confidential funds. So nakalatag doon kung paano gagamitin, nakalatag din doon kung paano siya i-liquidate, and by its nature, it’s confidential fund so we can’t discuss kung paano siya ginagamit sa operations.”

DepE budget for 2024

Last August 2, 2023, the House of Representatives received the proposed P5.768 Trillion National Budget for 2024 from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). 

The said National Budget for 2024 is 9.5% higher than the previous P5.267 Trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) or the enacted budget for 2023, as reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

 Department of Education receives the highest allocation, seconded by public works and infrastructure, as mandated by the Philippine Constitution.

DepEd’s proposed budget for 2024 is P924.7 billion, which is higher than the P895.2 billion approved in the 2023 GAA. As per DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, the 3.3% increase in DepEd’s budget is for the higher provisions for subsidies, facilities, learning materials and skills training programs.

DepEd’s proposed budget is equivalent to 16.0% of the total National Expenditure Program for 2024. President Bongbong Marcos also supported the increase in DepEd budget and said, “with 99.5 percent of our public schools now implementing 5-day in-person classes, this amount will fund significant investments in the education of over 28 million learners nationwide.”

DepEd’s budget breakdown

Budget Secretary Pangandaman discussed the allocation of the budget: P758.6 billion for the Department of Education, P31.0 billion for the Commission on Higher Education, P15.2 billion for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and P105.6 billion for the 116 state universities and colleges, among others. 

She also said, “Echoing the pronouncement of our President, alongside the strengthening of our economy, we will also invest heavily in human capital development through education, health, and social protection.”

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Part of this year’s budget is the Basic Education Facilities Program, which aims to upgrade the learning environment for students, including those in remote areas. This includes P33.8B allocation for:

• construction of 7,879 new classrooms and technical vocational laboratories
• repair and rehabilitation of 10,050 classrooms
• procurement of 21,557 sets of school desks, furniture, and fixtures
• electrification of 432 classrooms
• construction of 333 priority school health facilities, 3 medium-rise school buildings, 72 library hubs, 16 Inclusive Learning Resource Centers and 4 Community Learning Centers.

Among other programs of DepEd to receive budget allocation for 2024 are MATATAG 2024, DepEd Computerization Program, continuous support for TESDA and Alternative Learning System (ALS) and strengthen the School-Based Feeding Program. Aside from the mentioned programs, there is also the P150M confidential fund for the Department, if approved by the Congress.