ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Louise Co are pushing for a measure to ensure education receives the highest budgetary priority.

Tinio and Co filed House Bill 204, which mandates the allocation of an amount equivalent to at least six percent (6%) of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the annual budget of the Department of Education, State Universities and Colleges, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and other agencies directly involved in the education sector.

The two lawmakers pointed out that the 2025 General Appropriations Act has been widely criticized for prioritizing infrastructure spending over education, raising concerns that the government is sidelining the education sector.

The bill aims to champion the interests of children and youth, as well as teachers and education personnel.

“Prioritizing debt servicing and infrastructure spending has left our teachers and education workers overworked, underpaid, and in debt,” the lawmakers stated in their explanatory note.

“Reversing this trend may have been long overdue, but it is never too late to start now,” they added.