Anticipating the national budget deliberation on education agencies, the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) has called on legislators to put Filipinos first as they tackle the 2026 budget by demanding full transparency and greater investments in education and human capital.
PBEd raised concerns that education remains underfunded. The 2026 National Expenditure Program allocates around P1.178 trillion for education, which is only around 3.8 percent of gross domestic production (GDP), and well short of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization standard of at least 4 – 6 percent.
Over the past decade, education spending has averaged only 3.2 percent of GDP.
“We must allocate our resources where it matters most, because every peso wasted denies our people access to vital programs – such as education, nutrition, and health care – that they rightfully deserve,” said PBEd executive director Bal Camua in a recent press statement.
“We cannot afford to let insertions and inefficiencies eat into the education budget. Every year we delay meeting the standard, we risk losing a generation. Opening the budget deliberations from start until its passage will help strengthen accountability and ensure that public funds truly serve the people,” he added.
Every year, there is always the clamor to put Filipinos first through more investments and resources in education. And every year, our government always manages to somehow fall short, and we don’t even have to consider the losses due to widespread corruption and gross inefficiency.
Will this year be any different? Let us hope so.*
