DILG, CHEd pitch 2027 budget proposals

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Commission on Higher Education presented their fiscal year 2027 budget proposals to the House Committee on Appropriations, with CHEd appealing to lawmakers to restore nearly P35 billion trimmed from its initial request.

Under the 2027 National Expenditure Program, the DILG was allocated P332.5 billion, representing a 7.1 percent or P22 billion increase from its funding under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.

DILG officials told lawmakers that roughly 84 percent of the proposed allocation is designated for personnel services.

Major sub-agencies — including the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Bureau of Fire Protection — received substantial funding boosts intended for equipment acquisition, vehicle procurement, facility construction, and the hiring of 2,000 additional personnel per office.

Conversely, allocations declined for several offices under the DILG umbrella, including the Early Childhood Care and Development Council, the Philippine Commission on Women, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, and the National Police Commission.

In a separate briefing, CHED urged lawmakers to increase its allocation beyond the amount approved in the National Expenditure Program.

The commission originally requested P70.28 billion for 2027 — its highest funding request since 2024 — but received an allocation of P35.45 billion in the proposed national budget, leaving a P34.83 billion gap.

CHED chairperson Dr. Shirley Agrupis warned that the shortfall leaves critical programs underfunded, including the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education program, student scholarship initiatives, and information system modernization.

“Why do we plead for the removed P34 billion as proposed based on data?” Agrupis told lawmakers, emphasizing that the funding is necessary “to continue what we are doing effectively and efficiently and to continue serving the higher education community.”

CHED officials cited that while executive budget proposals for the commission were consistently reduced in national expenditure plans from 2024 to 2026, lawmakers previously restored portions of the funding before final enactment of the annual General Appropriations Act.