Is The Philippine Government Sacrificing Education For Infrastructure?
BY MARCOS C. MORDENO
The 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to quality education and mandates the government to prioritize education funding. However, Congress’ recent decision to cut the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget by P11.57 billion for 2025 raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to this constitutional obligation.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara criticized the move, highlighting the constitutional mandate for education funding. Congressman Rodge Gutierrez, however, defended the budget cut, citing the Commission on Audit report that highlighted DepEd’s inefficiency in disbursing funds allocated for ICT equipment. He argues that reallocating these unused funds is necessary to ensure accountability.
While the argument for fiscal responsibility is valid, the extent of the DepEd budget cut seems disproportionate, especially considering the critical need for educational resources. Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received a significantly larger budget increase of P100 billion in 2025.
This raises a crucial question: Is the government prioritizing infrastructure development over education, despite the constitutional commitment to education as a fundamental right?
Furthermore, the DPWH’s recent record of flood control projects failing to prevent damage during typhoons warrants a closer look at the allocation of such a substantial budget increase.
If Congress is concerned about “throwing good money after bad,” due diligence should be applied across all government agencies, including DPWH, instead of solely focusing on DepEd.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at boymords@mindanews.com.)
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