Allocated funding support for learners with disabilities has been assured throughout 2023, Senator Win Gatchalian said Friday.

Citing his proposals that have been carried in the bicameral committee report on the 2023 national budget, Gatchalian said the Department of Education's P96 million budget for the conversion of Special Education centers to Inclusive Learning Resource Centers for Learners with Disabilities received an additional P64 million, bringing the total to P160 million under the DepEd's capital outlay.

The amount, he said, will allow each region to convert at least one SPED center into a model ILRC.

The bicam report likewise incorporated Gatchalian's proposal to allocate P100 million worth of instructional materials for learners with disabilities covering those enrolled in both the formal system and the Alternative Learning System, including multiple platforms using electronic and online modes of delivery.

Gatchalian reiterated that ensuring funding support for learners with disabilities is aligned with the government's mandate to implement Republic Act 11650 or "Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Act" which was signed into law earlier this year.

"We will make sure that our education system will recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic while ensuring that learners with disabilities will not be left behind," said
Gatchalian, who sponsored the law during the 18th Congress.

RA 11650 states that the DepEd, in collaboration with local government units, shall initially establish and maintain at least one ILRC in every city and municipality in the country.

The law also mandates that all existing SPED Centers shall be converted to and renamed as ILRCs.

While the ILRCs are mandated to implement inclusive education programs and deliver free support services to learners with disabilities, including language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical and physiotherapy, provision of qualified sign language interpreters, and other similar services, aids, and actions that facilitate the learning process.