The Philippines’ education sector is set to receive a record P1.38 trillion under the House-approved Fiscal Year 2026 national budget, officially pushing education spending past the 4% share of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first time in history.

The Department of Budget and Management confirmed the final allocation is equivalent to 4.5 percent of GDP, the highest level achieved by the country, aligning the Philippines with the minimum standard recommended by UNESCO for education financing.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman described the landmark investment as a reflection of the government’s firm commitment to education as a "cornerstone of national development."

“This 4% level shows just how serious our government is about investing in the country’s education system,” Pangandaman said in a statement, adding that the government has "never stopped prioritizing our teachers, students, classrooms, and skills training.”

The total budget for the sector, which includes the Department of Education, State Universities and Colleges, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, rose from the originally proposed ₱1.224 trillion National Expenditure Program. An additional ₱56.6 billion was realigned by the House of Representatives during deliberations, bringing the final total to ₱1.38 trillion, which represents 12% of the national budget.

Of the additional funds, ₱35.1 billion was sourced from adjustments within the Department of Public Works and Highways, specifically from flood control projects, to reinforce the Basic Education Facilities Fund for education infrastructure support.

The Department of Education (DepEd) will receive the largest share, totaling P992.7 billion, an 8.6 percent increase over the previous year. A large portion of this increase, an additional ₱78.5 billion, will address long-standing gaps in basic education. DepEd has allocated P68 billion specifically for classroom construction, with a target of building between 19,000 and 27,000 new classrooms nationwide to address the backlog.

Major student support programs also received significant funding boosts. The School-Based Feeding Program is set to double from ₱13 billion to P28.66 billion, enabling operations across 200 school days for an estimated 4.8 million learners. Similarly, the budget for textbooks will rise sharply from ₱11 billion to P29 billion to address shortages in learning materials. Furthermore, the ARAL Program, which provides tutoring in Math and Reading to support learning recovery, will see its funding increase from ₱5.623 billion to P8.93 billion, supporting 440,000 tutors and benefiting 6.7 million learners.

For higher education, State Universities and Colleges will see their funding increase from ₱131.7 billion to P140.3 billion to strengthen campus facilities and research. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will receive P48.2 billion, an 11 percent increase, including ₱6.6 billion for the Tertiary Education Subsidy. This subsidy will support 490,000 incoming college students from 4Ps households, providing ₱20,000 if enrolled in public institutions and ₱27,000 if enrolled in private institutions in areas lacking nearby public colleges. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) budget will also increase from ₱23.5 billion to P25.3 billion, with ₱5.1 billion allocated to the Training for Work Scholarship Program to train 190,000 Filipinos in priority skills.

Pangandaman concluded that the 2026 budget advances the goals of the Philippine Development Plan and supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Bagong Pilipinas vision of fostering innovation, competitiveness, and inclusive growth through education.