DepEd to promote 100K teachers amid ‘record-high’ 2026 budget

The Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Tuesday that approximately 100,000 public school teachers nationwide will soon receive promotions due to a record-high budget allocation for the agency this year.

Speaking at a press briefing in Malacañang, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara expressed gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Congress for approving a PhP1.015 trillion education budget, part of the P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026.

“This budget allows us to promote over 100,000 public school teachers—a milestone that has never happened before,” Angara said. 

He added that lack of career advancement has long been a reason why many teachers leave the public school system.

Under Angara’s Expanded Career Progression (ECP) program, DepEd has already promoted 16,025 teachers, with 41,183 more currently processed for the next batch of promotions. 

“This is why teachers have been leaving—they feel unappreciated and stuck, often going nearly a decade without promotions or salary increases,” Angara explained.

The new budget also represents a 30% increase from last year, the largest in Angara’s political career. For the first time, the Philippines has met the UNESCO benchmark of allocating 4 to 6 percent of GDP to education.

The historic funding will expand key programs such as the School-Based Feeding Program, which saw its budget jump from P3 billion to over P25 billion. 

The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, providing free tutorials for struggling students in Math, Science, and Reading, will also be fully funded with P9 billion, ensuring that every school has access to a tutor.

Additionally, the 2026 budget allocates resources for the construction of 24,000 classrooms, far exceeding the previous plan of 5,000 to 6,000 classrooms. 

For the first time, classroom construction will not rely solely on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Angara said.

“Now, local government units and DepEd itself will have the flexibility to build the majority of these classrooms,” he added.

Education advocates have hailed the 2026 budget as a transformative step toward improving teacher welfare, student learning, and infrastructure in public schools nationwide.