Aquino seeks reallocation of P243B flood control fund to education, healthcare

Senator Bam Aquino on Thursday said he is eyeing a reassessment of the proposed P243-billion flood control budget for 2026, stressing that funds for projects not deemed necessary should instead be redirected to more urgent priorities such as education and healthcare.

“If we really concentrate and put the money where the important programs are, what exactly should we spend our money on?” Aquino, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said.

“The P243 billion in the 2026 budget for flood control, I’m guessing, will be reduced. That will be slashed significantly. I’m hoping some of that will go to education and maybe some of that will go to healthcare,” he added.

Aquino emphasized that free education and healthcare must be prioritized, describing them as basic needs that should be adequately funded for the Filipino people’s welfare.

"If we’re able to cut where we’re supposed to cut and allocate where we’re supposed to allocate, we'll be able to achieve that. It's not as impossible as it may seem," he said.

The senator noted that with proper funding, education issues such as the 166,000-classroom backlog and the lack of school equipment could be addressed sooner than expected, while universal healthcare could be made more accessible to all Filipinos.

"Five million students don't have seats. Close to 25 percent of our schoolchildren aren't even sitting in seats. About 166,000 classrooms are lacking. These are all immediate and medium-term because they can't be done tomorrow," Aquino stressed.

"If we get the funding now, maybe in a year or two, those issues can be resolved," he added.

During his interpellation on the privilege speech of Sen. JV Ejercito, principal sponsor of the Universal Healthcare Act, Aquino sought to determine the budget needed for the law’s full implementation, aiming to ensure that Filipinos would no longer have to pay out of pocket for their medical needs.

"How much is really needed for us to achieve the goal of universal healthcare? If that number is not clear, our goals are also not clear," Aquino pressed.

Aquino also filed Senate Resolution No. 28, urging the appropriate Senate committees to review how the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other implementing agencies have spent the P360 billion flood control budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

He pointed out that despite the P1.47 trillion allocated for flood control from 2009 to 2024, the country continues to suffer from poor drainage systems, ineffective flood measures, outdated pumping stations, and a lack of community-based flood risk management.

As part of efforts to address the classroom backlog, Aquino filed Senate Bill No. 121, or the Classroom-Building Acceleration Program Act, which seeks to authorize capable local government units and private sector entities to construct classrooms in compliance with national standards, with funding support from the national government.