Proposed reductions in education spending could hit programs for students with disabilities, Indigenous communities and learners in remote areas, prompting an advocacy group to ask Congress to redirect more funding toward those struggling to access basic education.
Education Network Philippines (E-Net) raised the concern as the Department of Education’s proposed 2027 allocation was placed at Php 973.40 billion, below the Php 1.01 trillion budget for 2026.
Some of the steepest reductions identified by the group involve targeted education programs. Indigenous Peoples Education would receive Php 76.168 million, less than half of its Php 154.436-million allocation this year, while Special Needs Education would decline to Php 849.98 million from Php 1.043 billion.
E-Net also pointed to lower allocations for alternative and flexible education. The Alternative Learning System would receive Php 722 million, compared with Php 897 million in 2026, while Madrasah Education would get Php 504.282 million, down from Php 521.615 million.
For schools serving geographically isolated communities, the proposed National Expenditure Program provides Php 1.91 billion for Last Mile and GIDA schools. E-Net wants Congress to raise this to Php 5 billion to cover classrooms, connectivity, learning materials, equipment and personnel deployment.
Another major concern is school feeding. The proposed allocation for the School-Based Feeding Program stands at Php 11.431 billion, a sharp decline from Php 25.695 billion in 2026. The group also sought identifiable funding for programs addressing bullying, cyberbullying, child protection, mental health and online sexual abuse or exploitation of children.
Beyond restoring existing programs, E-Net wants Php 5 billion for the Alternative Learning System to reach at least one million learners and funding for 15,000 additional teaching positions. It welcomed the proposed 1,800 School Counselor Associate I posts but said schools would also need resources for counseling, psychosocial services, referrals and prevention programs.
The group urged lawmakers to use the budget deliberations to strengthen funding for teachers and hard-to-reach communities, including hardship allowances, compensation for additional teaching work and support for personnel deployed to remote schools. E-Net argued that reducing programs designed for learners already facing educational disadvantages could make existing access gaps harder to close.