Camille Naredo

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman Han Sy led the turnover of the new Henry Sy Sr. Hall at San Francisco High School in Quezon City. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman Han Sy led the turnover of the new Henry Sy Sr. Hall at San Francisco High School in Quezon City. The 24-classroom facility, funded by SM, highlights the company's continued investment in education and Filipino learners. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

Article (news)

DepEd

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178877681871620260610-depEd-angara-san-francisco-high-school-PPA30.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman Han Sy led the turnover of the new Henry Sy Sr. Hall at San Francisco High School in Quezon City. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool">DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman Han Sy led the turnover of the new Henry Sy Sr. Hall at San Francisco High School in Quezon City. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool</div>MANILA &mdash; The hiring of new teachers and the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program are unfunded in the 2027 National Expenditure Program, according to Education Secretary Sonny Angara.During DepEd&#39;s budget hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations on Monday, Angara said teacher shortage in the country is estimated to be around 14,274 next year, which will cost around P4.29 billion.&nbsp;&quot;Ito ay hindi pa napopondohan?&quot; ACT Teachers Party List Rep. Antonio Tinio asked.&quot;Wala po sa 2027,&quot; Angara replied.Asked for an explanation, Angara said: &quot;This year, we received 32,000, which is 12,000 over the average of 20,000... We&#39;re hoping baka madagdagan &#39;yan in the course of the budgetary process.&quot;&quot;Minsan may excess kasi kulang sa classrooms din. So wala rin sila maturuan. Hindi nakakasabay &#39;yung infrastructure, your honor, doon sa number of teachers,&quot; he added.Around 100,000 teachers are entitled to a promotion, but are still waiting for funding. For next year, Angara said P12 billion is allocated &quot;for the promotions of 135,000 school heads.&quot;The DepEd also seeks an additional P5.25 billion to fund the construction of new classrooms next year, on top of the P17.31 billion allocated for new classrooms under the 2027 NEP.&nbsp;As of July 2026, the country&#39;s classroom backlog was at 142,627 units, after 22,816 classrooms were constructed under the administration, according to Angara.&nbsp;&quot;On the average&hellip; ang nafa-fund ng GAA for classrooms is around 5,000 approximately per year. Pero for this year, because nga dito sa historic budget na ibinigay ninyo sa amin, we have around P60 billion for infra, classrooms, new classrooms. That will be represented around 18,000 classrooms,&quot; Angara said.&quot;Tapos mayroon ding isinasalang na PPP o Public Private Partnership, which na-approve na po ng DepDev ICC &#39;yung another 16,000. So dito pa lang sa taong ito, mauumpisahan na siguro &#39;yung 34,000. It&#39;s still a long way towards the 140-plus thousand classroom deficit that we have accumulated over the years, but definitely it is the biggest attempt to make a dent, or to improve upon the classroom deficit,&quot; he added.According to Angara, DepEd would also welcome a higher budget for classroom repairs.<div> </div><div>ARAL PROGRAM</div>Lawmakers, meanwhile, questioned the zero allocation under the 2027 NEP for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program, which aims to provide free tutorial support in reading to help struggling learners catch up.The DepEd is seeking P15.98 billion to implement the ARAL program next year, which will cover the compensation and honoraria of tutors, the ARAL learning resources, and the program management, among others.&quot;Maganda naman &#39;yung resulta ng ating programa, because doon sa 6.7 million na pumasok po sa ARAL program, we saw at the end of the school year, merong 4.5 million fewer struggling readers, at saka may 2.5 million doon sa 6.7 million na umangat po sa grade level reading. So they&#39;re reading, now reading at the right level,&quot; Angara told the House panel.&quot;This should be our priority to help our Filipino children to catch-up, learn better, and regain their confidence in their own abilities to succeed,&quot; Rep. Salvador Pleyto said.Angara said the DepEd is also eyeing to expand the ARAL program to math and science.&quot;&#39;Yung ARAL&hellip; wala ring alloted funds for that. Ang gusto nga natin is ma-expand &#39;yung ARAL program to math and science later on. Dahil &#39;yung nagawa po lang natin is ARAL reading and yet napakaganda na po ng epekto, dahil for the first time in history&hellip; mayroong programa na may tutors ang bawat estudyante ng public schools,&quot; he said.<div> </div><div>BUDGET CUTS</div>Meanwhile, Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice called out the proposed budget cuts for the DepEd&#39;s school-based feeding program, text books and other instructional materials, computerization program, and the government assistance to junior and senior high school voucher programs next year.The proposed funding for the special needs education program is also lower in the 2027 NEP compared to this year.Angara explained that the higher budget for DepEd&#39;s programs this year were due to the realigned funding from locally funded flood control projects for 2026.The Education chief sought additional budget for the school feeding program next year, which he said is also an &quot;incentive for attendance&quot;, and for the voucher program, which he said is a way to decongest public schools.Angara also said the DepEd has &quot;closed the gap&quot; in procuring textbooks through early procurement, as he noted that they are working on addressing the challenge of getting the books delivered on time.&quot;Ang goal talaga natin is one text book one learner&hellip; We&#39;re on our way to meet that,&quot; he said. &quot;In 2026, we procured 105 out of 105 titles. Ang challenge na lang namin is i-deliver on time. Dati nale-late ng one year. Siguro, ngayon, male-late na lang kami ng linggo o buwan na lang.&quot;For 2026, 283,000 laptops for teachers were funded. But for 2027, the proposed funding is only for 50,000 additional laptops, according to Angara. The DepEd is requesting an additional P10.56 billion for 2027 to procure more laptops.The DepEd is also seeking P8.68 billion to fund security guards (P5.05 billion), metal detectors and walkthrough scanners (P2.13 billion), and perimeter fences (P1.5 billion) in schools next year amid recent incidents of shooting and violence inside the campus.The DepEd also sought an additional P13.8 billion to fund the implementation of the Mental Health Act in schools, which covers mental health and guidance counseling, and additional school counselor associates.Angara also assured that DepEd is looking to fully implement the revised anti-bullying law, after Akbayan Party List Rep. Percival Cendana said the Philippines is the &quot;bullying capital&quot; of the world.Meanwhile, an executive order is being drafted to govern the new rules on class suspensions.The proposed 2027 budget for the DepEd and its attached agencies totaled P975.96 billion, 3.88% lower than the current year. Angara appealed for additional P145.19 billion to fund critical and unbudgeted programs.

The hiring of new teachers and the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program are unfunded in the 2027 National Expenditure Program, according to Education Secretary Sonny Angara.

The hiring of new teachers and the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program are unfunded in the 2027 National Expenditure Program, according to Education Secretary Sonny Angara.

Hiring of new teachers, ARAL program unfunded in 2027 NEP—Angara

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Nation

Hiring of new teachers, ARAL program unfunded in 2027 NEP—Angara

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 07, 2026 06:28 PM PHT

|

Updated September 07, 2026 06:42 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

education

Department of Education

Sonny Angara

ARAL program

2027 budget

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Haven't received our newsletter?

Check your inbox to verify and confirm your subscription. If you don’t see it, please check your spam or junk folder.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.