AMID his pronouncement that the 2026 General Appropriations Act will be an “education budget,” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for an allocation equivalent to 4% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for education.

Gatchalian said this level of funding is crucial to ending the education crisis and securing the nation’s future.

“Pipilitin nating umabot o lumagpas ng 4% of our GDP ang budget ng edukasyon dahil malaki ang kailangang pondo para masolusyunan ang krisis sa edukasyon. Hindi ibig sabihin na isasantabi na ang ibang sektor. Bibigyan lang natin ng prayoridad ang edukasyon,” said Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

He emphasized that the 2026 budget will focus on strengthening literacy and numeracy from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

The senator also highlighted the need to fund the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program and revive the cost-sharing scheme between the national and local governments for classroom construction.

Gatchalian likewise proposed hiring more teacher aides to free up teachers from administrative and other non-teaching tasks.