Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Francis Orcio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Despite the Department of Education’s (DepEd) record-high budget and ongoing reforms in basic education, teachers continue to shoulder school preparation costs through out-of-pocket spending and reliance on donations, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said on Monday.As public schools re-open preparation activities under Brigada Eskwela, ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo criticized what she described as the continued dependence on “bayanihan” to keep schools running, saying the system masks long-standing government neglect in education infrastructure and support ahead of school year 2026–2027.“Teacher naman lagi at mga magulang, mamamayan iyong taya. Samantalang kine-kwestyon natin ito dahil nga sa pagiging makasaysayan daw ng malaking pondo sa edukasyon, trilyong pisong pondo, pero malinaw po sa inilabas naming survey sa mga teachers natin across schools in the Philippines, 75% po ang nagsasabing gumastos, out-of-the-pocket expenses po talaga ang ginamit ng ating mga guro para sa pagkukumpuni at ng mga kailangan sa eskwela,” Bernardo said.Bernardo said the continued reliance on personal spending is especially alarming given that many teachers are already overworked and underpaid, yet are still expected to fill resource gaps in classrooms.ACT’s survey of nearly 800 schools showed that a majority of teachers still personally fund school repairs and materials.The group also raised concerns over worsening structural shortages in public schools, warning that the problem extends far beyond temporary fixes such as classroom renovations and donation drives.“Bagong school year pero the same old problems iyong aabutan natin kahit sa usapin ng classroom shortages natin. Kasi nananatiling 165,000 iyong kulang nating classroom pero doon sa 165,000 na yun, 51,000 doon, as EDCOM 2 reported, ay mga dilapidated na, for rehabilitations,” Bernardo stated.On broader education reforms, ACT also questioned the Department’s new three-term school calendar and the ARAL Program, warning that teachers are being burdened with additional responsibilities without sufficient consultation, preparation, or compensation safeguards.“Sa anumang learning recovery ay tingnan din iyong well-being ng ating mga teachers. Number one factor ‘yan kasi kami iyopng nasa front line e’. Kami iyong nasa unahan pero hindi kino-consider,” Bernardo said.“Para kaming robot, para kaming makina sa tingin ng DepEd na lahat ay isusubo na lang na, hindi kami nakukonsulta, at hindi bahagi ng policy making,” she added.ACT further criticized what it described as a top-down approach in policy implementation, saying many reforms are introduced through limited consultations and online orientations that are insufficient for large-scale changes in workload, curriculum, and assessment systems.<div>DEPED RESPONSE: REFORMS UNDERWAY</div>On the implementation of the three-term school calendar, the Department of Education, through its Learning Systems Strand Undersecretary Carmela Oracion, defended the reform, saying it is intended to improve the structure of the school year and ensure more focused learning periods.“We really think that this is a move to organize the way we run a school year. Imbis na labo-labo, halo-halo, ang ginagawa natin, there&#x27;s a dedicated time for teaching and learning. There&#x27;s also a dedicated time for remediation, enrichment, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities,” Oracion said.Officials said remediation will not be confined to a single period but will be integrated across the school year to ensure continuity of learning support.“The remediation may take place before classes, after classes, or on Saturdays. Doon naman sa end of term block, meron tayong dedicated days, 2 hours per day, kung saan gagawin ang remediation,” she said.DepEd also addressed concerns raised by ACT regarding classroom shortages and teacher workload, saying ongoing reforms aim to simplify teaching processes and reduce administrative burden while continuing hiring programs for additional personnel.On concerns regarding the absence of pilot testing for the three-term academic calendar, the agency defended its decision, saying the reform was extensively studied and adapted to local conditions.“We are not piloting, but we have studied this very, very carefully. We did a study of literature. This is being implemented in various places. But we are not simply transplanting. We have taken a look at our context and our conditions and adapted what we saw in other places in the policy statement on this one,” Oracion explained.DepEd maintained that many private schools in the Philippines have long implemented similar academic calendars, which served as reference points in designing the public school system reform.

Despite the Department of Education’s (DepEd) record-high budget and ongoing reforms in basic education, teachers continue to shoulder school preparation costs through out-of-pocket spending and reliance on donations, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said on Monday.

Despite the Department of Education’s (DepEd) record-high budget and ongoing reforms in basic education, teachers continue to shoulder school preparation costs through out-of-pocket spending and reliance on donations, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said on Monday.

Teachers shoulder school costs despite trillion-peso education budget, ACT says

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Teachers shoulder school costs despite trillion-peso education budget, ACT says

Francis Orcio,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 01, 2026 05:59 PM PHT

Read More:

Brigada Eskwela

Department of Education

DepEd

Alliance of Concerned Teachers

ACT Philippines

Carmela Oracion

EDCOM 2

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