WITH the realignment of the Department of Education’s confidential fund, Senator Risa Hontiveros is confident that schools can now integrate holistic measures to promote healthy behaviors and environments for immunization, mental health and age- and development-appropriate reproductive health education, especially in last mile schools.

“Bagaman hindi buong nailagak ang confidential funds sa mga mahahalagang programa para sa basic education, malaking tulong ito upang madagdagan ng pondo ang ating mga school health programs in line with the mandate of the Universal Health Care Act,” Hontiveros said.

During the period of amendments on the proposed 2023 national budget, Hontiveros pushed to realign DepEd’s P150 million confidential fund to the Healthy Learning Institutions program.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Juan Edgardo Angara accepted the amendment but he reduced it to P120 million and appealed to retain the P30 million as confidential fund.

Hontiveros agreed with the compromise and thanked Angara and her other colleagues for accepting her proposed realignment.

“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa mga kasamahan natin sa Senado na kaisa natin sa pagnanais na tiyakin sa publiko na tayo’y nakikinig sa mga alalahanin ninyo, at naniniwala talaga kami na hindi dapat masayang ni isang sentimo ng ating national budget,” she said.