bighit777 Escudero: DepEd’s P36B unused fund can be used to augment its budget

Senate President Francis Escudero during the Kapihan sa Senado forum on December 5, 2024. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could tap the Department of Education’s (DepEd) over P36 billion in unused funds to augment its budget for 2025, Senate President Francis Escudero said on Tuesday.

Escudero was asked by reporters to comment on Marcos’ commitment to restore the P10 billion that Congress slashed from DepEd’s proposed funding. It was intended for DepEd’s computerization program.

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“Yes. The President can augment any item in the budget from savings or unspent items in the budget,” Escudero said.

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In a text message to reporters, the Senate chief enumerated the “good examples” of savings, or unspent items, that could be used:

The P10.034 billion that DepEd has not obligated nor spent since it was allocated P13.068 billion in the General Appropriations Act of 2022 for its computerization program. Escudero said this would be reverted to the National Treasury by the end of 2024. The P10.2 billion that DepEd has not obligated nor spent out of the P20.4 billion that Congress allocated in the 2023 General Appropriations Act, which is also for DepEd’s computerization program. The P15.9 billion out of P18.08 billion that DepEd has not spent from the 2024 budget, which is also for its computerization program.

Escudero pointed out that there are “many sources” to push for augmentation of DepEd’s budget and Education Secretary Sonny Angara should be aware of these.

Authorities have since last month unveiled a raft of measures to kickstart sluggish consumption and address a prolonged and debilitating debt crisis in the country’s colossal property sector.

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“DepEd and its secretary should know because the submissions for the budget deliberations on their own dismal fund utilization came from them,” he added.

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Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, has agreed that her brother could use unspent funds to augment items in the budget, but she raised the possibility that there are now more excess funds to use.

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“In the event that there are savings, we can increase, but that is still a big if. Are there really savings? With the whopping allocation transferred to unprogrammed, are we sure?” she told reporters in an ambush interview on Tuesday.

“We can’t be sufe. But the crisis in education, that’s really evident,” she added.

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READ: Angara: Marcos to remedy huge DepEd budget cut

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