ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro criticized President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to maintain cuts to education under the approved 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Castro and former ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio condemned Marcos’ veto message on the 2025 national budget, calling it a deceptive maneuver to create an illusion of constitutional compliance while still maintaining cuts to education.

“This veto message is pure deception. The veto of P194 billion in DPWH projects is just a smokescreen to make it seem like the budget complies with constitutional requirements by showing larger funding for education. But the truth is, the cuts to education can’t be reversed,” Castro said.

Tinio argued that the vetoed items were carefully chosen to give the impression of prioritizing education while keeping large funding for infrastructure and military projects intact.

“This is a major case of window-dressing. The administration is trying to fool the public by vetoing certain DPWH projects while keeping massive cuts to essential education programs. This veto doesn’t change the anti-education and anti-poor character of the 2025 budget,” Tinio explained.

Castro pointed out that the education budget remains severely inadequate, despite the vetoes.

“The education budget should have been set at 6% of GDP from the start to meet UN standards. Instead, Congress reduced it, and no veto will restore these cuts,” Castro said.

“This budget and these vetoes show the administration’s true priorities—maintaining huge allocations for infrastructure and military spending while shortchanging education. The veto of DPWH projects is just for show if it doesn’t restore the education cuts,” Tinio added.

“We call on the public to see through this deception. Let’s not be fooled by the administration’s tactics. What our education sector needs is genuine prioritization, not political theatrics,” Castro concluded.