The bicameral conference committee approval of the 2026 national budget delivered twin legislative wins by advancing Sen. Bam Aquino’s education funding priorities while also backing Sen. Francis Pangilinan’s push to expand school feeding programs tied to direct support for farmers and fishers.
Aquino on Monday said the bicam decision fulfilled key campaign commitments after lawmakers approved record funding for education alongside expanded support for free college education, tertiary subsidies, and financial aid for students completing mandatory training requirements.
The approved education budget reached P1.38 trillion, the largest allocation in Philippine history, with P67 billion dedicated to the Free College Law and Tertiary Education Subsidy, P68 billion for classroom construction, and P25.6 billion for school-based feeding.
“We thank Senate President Tito Sotto, House Speaker Bojie Dy, Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, House Committee on Appropriations Chair Rep. Mika Suansing, our fellow legislators, and the public who actively followed and watched over the process to ensure that education funding was not reduced in the national budget,” Aquino said.
Lawmakers also adopted Aquino’s proposal to add P500 million to the Higher Education Development Program to support related learning experience expenses of students enrolled in allied health sciences programs.
The funding covers courses such as nursing, medical technology, pharmacy, physical therapy, dentistry, nutrition, psychology, and other pre-med and health-related programs that require costly on-the-job training before graduation.
Aquino also filed a bill seeking to permanently make related learning experience free in state and local universities, while allowing private school students to access tertiary education subsidies for the same purpose.
In a parallel development, the bicameral committee approved Pangilinan’s proposal to significantly expand the Department of Education’s School-Based Feeding Program and anchor food procurement on direct purchases from local producers.
Lawmakers more than doubled the feeding program budget to P25.7 billion, extended coverage to 200 school days, including milk feeding, and directed sourcing from farmers, fishers, and dairy cooperatives under the Sagip Saka Act.
Pangilinan said the expanded program aims to improve child nutrition while strengthening rural incomes, with fresh milk supplied by local dairy farmers through the National Dairy Authority and the Philippine Carabao Center rather than imported products.
