The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) is questioning budget cuts that the Department of Education (DepEd) is reportedly implementing despite the DepEd’s P760 billion budget for next year.
ACT said the DepEd is reducing the funding for the Early Childhood Care and Development Council, the Early Childhood Care and Development Council, the National Book Development Board, and other agencies.
The group also questioned the confidential and intelligence funds that several departments—including the DepEd—are getting from the national budget.
“We raise the question: Is this still the education department or the Department of Intelligence? The government is focusing on a different kind of intelligence,” ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua said in an interview.
The DepEd declined to give any comment. The proposed DepEd budget has increased by at least 5.8 percent, or a difference of at least P36 billion from the previous year, ACT said in a report.
Quetua also cited the DepEd’s commitment to allocate more funds for classrooms for chairs and tables, especially to schools that were destroyed by recent typhoons.
ACT has also reported that the DepEd plans to hire only 7,800 teachers for the next school year despite a shortage of at least a hundred thousand teachers.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel meanwhile questioned Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on the confidential and intelligence funds allocated to government agencies under the proposed P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024.
Manuel also questioned Pangandaman on how such funds can help the economy, adding that “it seemed that the DBM allows this scheme in different agencies. My question is, how can confidential and intelligence funds help the economy?”
Manuel said out of the P10.14 billion allotted for government agencies, P5.27 billion is earmarked for intelligence expenses, while P4.86 billion is for confidential expenses.
Reports said the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, both headed by Vice President Sara Duterte, have allocations reaching P500 million and P150 million, respectively.
The Department of National Defense (DND) meanwhile has P1.7 billion in confidential and intelligence funds under the proposed budget.
Pangandaman, replying on the lawmaker’s query, said “there are existing guidelines and definition on confidential and intelligence funds. Under the GAA, intelligence funds if used as, shall be released, and disbursed for intelligence activities only.”
“Confidential funds are authorized in this act and shall be released and disbursed only upon approval of department secretary, and can be used to, related to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies that are intended to support the mandate or operations of the agency,” she added.
