SENATE Committee on Basic Education Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian expressed disappointment over the decision of the bicameral conference committee to cut the Department of Education’s 2025 budget.

This follows Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara’s criticism of Congress’ decision to reduce the proposed DepEd budget by P12 billion.

“Sad to learn that both houses of Congress have decided to decrease by P12 billion the budget the President proposed for DepEd for 2025. This reverses a trend in recent years where Congress added even more to the education budget, save for one year during the pandemic,” Angara said earlier.

The bicameral conference committee reduced the DepEd’s 2025 funding allocation to P737 billion, down from P748.65 billion, in the reconciled version of the General Appropriations Bill.

Gatchalian shared Angara’s sentiment, emphasizing that education—particularly resources like computers and gadgets for learning—should always be prioritized, as education is the most effective means of lifting people out of poverty.

“Having said that, I also recognize that resources are very scarce to fulfill all the requirements of the different departments. Because of this, Congress should carefully balance, through the budget, the multitude of projects and programs that our people need,” Gatchalian explained.