Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Tuesday that the 2026 national budget will provide support to address the shortage of teaching personnel in public schools.
He noted that a record P1.35-trillion allocation for education aims to tackle long-standing challenges while continuing reforms, including the expansion of student feeding programs.
The Department of Education was allotted P85.3 billion to reduce classroom backlogs and improve learning conditions nationwide.
Funding will allow the immediate hiring of additional teachers and tutors to assist students facing difficulties in reading and other basic skills.
Approximately P42.4 billion has been set aside for nearly 33,000 teaching positions, 6,000 Principal I posts, and 10,000 School Counselor Associate roles, while other personnel positions and teacher training programs are covered by additional allocations.
The budget also includes P65 billion for the construction of 24,964 new classrooms and P7.7 billion for the repair and rehabilitation of existing school buildings.
Gatchalian added that P19.5 billion is allocated for textbooks and other learning materials, and the feeding program will expand to cover all Kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils as well as severely wasted Grade 2 and Grade 6 students.