The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) backed a proposal to realign P250 billion worth of flood control allocations for the construction of classrooms and other education sector needs.
Budget Secretary and Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) Chairperson Amenah Pangandaman said the DBM is inclined to support the suggestion raised by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste as long as the Department of Education (DepEd) could efficiently spend such a huge allocation.
“The executive proposes the budget and then we leave it to Congress whether you think it’s wise to cut the flood control budget and move it to education, but we welcome such because, again, the theme of our budget for next year will be really to increase our investment and spending in education,” Pangandaman said in a budget briefing at the House of Representatives.
“As long as the Department of Education can fully utilize the added allocation for the construction of classrooms, that would be okay,” she added.
Leviste proposed during the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing on Monday that the P274 billion worth of flood control budget for next year’s P6.7 trillion budget be allocated to building classrooms.
“The President has indicated that flood control projects are a possible source of corruption, and yet the 2026 NEP includes over P250 billion in flood control projects while the provision for new classrooms is at P13 billion,” Leviste said.
“Would DBCC support the House if we allocate much of this over P250 billion worth of flood control projects to increase the P13 billion pesos allocated to new classroom construction?” he added.
Leviste continued: “Based on the substandard and overpriced [Department of Public Works and Highways] projects we have seen, closing the gap on [the Department of Education’s] classroom shortage seems to be a much more wise use of taxpayers’ money than DPWH flood control projects in the 2026 budget.”
Last year, President Marcos vetoed more than P16 billion worth of flood control projects under the P6.3 trillion national budget for 2025.
