The Department of Education (DepEd) has received a budget exceeding ₱1 trillion for the first time in its history, with Undersecretary Edson Byron Sy confirming the agency received an allocation of ₱1.012 trillion under the Marcos administration.
Sy made the disclosure in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on August 1, as part of the DZRH SONA 2026 Series featuring the Department of Education.
“First time po ‘yun na nangyari in history sa education budget natin. 1 trillion, 1.012 nga po eh, to be exact for DepEd,” Sy said.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the trillion-peso budget reflects President Marcos’ commitment to treating education as the country’s highest national priority, citing the example of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who rebuilt his nation by focusing first on education after independence in 1965.
Sy said the budget’s five major areas of spending are teacher salaries and reclassification, classroom construction at ₱65 billion, the school feeding program now at ₱25 billion, government assistance and subsidies for students in private schools, and other operational expenses.
He said the budget is not just the largest in DepEd history in absolute terms, but represents the most comprehensive simultaneous investment in teachers, classrooms, nutrition, and access in a single budget year.
Angara said the trillion-peso budget is already being felt in schools nationwide, with 82,000 teachers promoted, 32,000 new teachers being hired, universal feeding for Kinder and Grade 1, and ₱65 billion for new classrooms all happening within the same fiscal year.
He said the goal now is to ensure that every peso of the historic budget translates directly into better outcomes for Filipino students, teachers, and schools, with no leakage and no waste.
