MAKABAYAN bloc members of the House of Representatives filed a resolution seeking to increase the budget of the education sector to match the six percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product, as per the standard of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas filed House Resolution 1984.

The lawmakers stressed that given the learning crisis that the Filipino educational sector has faced for years due to state underspending and neglect, it is more than prudent for the current government to start investing properly in education and to uphold the mandate entrusted by the 1987 Constitution.

The group explained that the International Monetary Fund’s estimate for 2024 Philippine GDP stand at P26.55 trillion, which would put the benchmark for educational spending at P1.593 trillion and around 25 percent of the current proposed 2025 budget.

They further said that this would allocate an additional P615.4 billion to our educational institutions, eradicating current budget cuts and expanding the capacity of our public educational institutions.

This budget, the lawmakers said, will allow schools to build more classrooms, hire more teachers, and expand their facilities to allow for a more expansive education for the students.

“It would also allow our educational institutions to be more prepared to face seasonal problems like typhoons, flooding, and heatwaves,” the group said in their resolution.