SENATOR Pia Cayetano urged the government to allocate more funds for classrooms, student subsidies, and basic hospital equipment, stressing that education and health must remain top budget priorities.

At the Development Budget Coordination Committee hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance, Cayetano — Vice Chairperson for Finance and former handler of the education budget — said the current allocation falls far short of the country’s needs.

On classroom shortages, she noted that only P15 billion was allocated in 2023, compared to the P412.5 billion required to close the gap within six years.

“P15 billion was a drop in the bucket compared to what we had to raise. But if you look at the completion rate, only 19 percent — kakapiranggot na nga lang y’ung budget, 19 percent pa y’ung nacomplete,” Cayetano said.

She also questioned why education receives less funding than infrastructure projects.

“P15 billion, we allocated for classrooms, ni hindi pa makumpleto. Tapos P275 billion for flood control na wala tayong pakialam. It’s so frustrating,” she said.

Cayetano likewise flagged the cut in the Tertiary Education Subsidy for private school students, from P30,000 per semester to P10,000, which she said has forced many to drop out.

“That’s a big drop. The result is nagda-dropout na ang mga estudyante. Education is supposed to get the highest budget,” she added.