Marcos wants DepEd, DBM to coordinate on restoring education budget cut

Education Secretary Sonny Angara | PHOTOS: Official Facebook page of DepEd and Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has instructed the Department of Education (DepEd) to “coordinate” with Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to restore the P10-billion cut from the agency’s 2025 budget, according to its chief Sonny Angara.

Angara said it on the sidelines of the ceremonial signing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act 12028, or DepEd’s Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL).

READ: Marcos says he’s working on restoring DepEd budget cut

“We are thankful to our President because he was able to do something about this. He already instructed me to coordinate with Department of Budget and Management Secretary Pangadaman on restoring the 2025 budget of DepEd,” he said in Filipino.

“There are different ways to restore the budget, through savings, or it can be augmented as long as there is an existing item since it’s allowed through program appropriations, but that depends on the money gathered from fund sources,” he added.

Before Marcos’ instruction, Angara revealed that the President called him, saying that he could not sleep due to DepEd’s slashed budget.

“This is contrary to what he wants, which is to make our education modern and to give children the chance, especially those who are not yet exposed to computers,” the DepEd chief said.

When asked if Marcos’ pronouncement is final, Angara said “Usually, if the President wants something to happen, it will happen, based on my experience.”