“These authorized positions remain available for DepEd to fill as qualified applicants are hired,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
The clarification followed concerns over the exclusion from the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) of DepEd's request for 14,274 additional teaching positions, estimated to cost P4.29 billion.
"The distinction is between creating a plantilla position and hiring a teacher for an already authorized position. It is simply incorrect to conclude from that that there is no funding to hire teachers," Budget Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon explained.
“Walang panukalang panibagong batch ng Teacher I positions for creation sa fiscal year 2027 dahil habang binabalangkas ang NEP, marami pa ang unfilled vacant teaching positions. That is precisely why we have allotted funding for this,” he added.
DepEd's latest personnel audit showed that hiring for existing authorized positions is already underway.
As of Sept. 4, the department had filled 33,250 teaching positions, leaving 25,019 unfilled. Of the teaching positions newly created in 2026, 22,649 had been filled, while 8,733 remained vacant.
DBM approved the creation of the 32,916 additional teaching positions on May 7, which it described as the largest annual batch reflected in government data from 2022 to 2026.
De Leon said these positions do not automatically lapse simply because they remain vacant at the end of a fiscal year.
“These positions remain available for filling. DepEd may hire against these authorized vacant items in this year until next year, or until they are filled,” he said.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara likewise sought to assure teachers and applicants that government recruitment would continue.
“Let us be clear: hindi titigil ang hiring ng teachers. We have thousands of authorized teaching positions that DepEd can continue to fill,” Angara said.
“The immediate task is to get qualified teachers into these vacant positions as quickly as possible and deploy them where they are needed most,” he added.
New positions may still be considered
DepEd and DBM said the 14,274 positions sought by the education department were a separate proposed batch of additional positions and were not part of the 64,530 positions already authorized and funded for filling.
The agencies said the additional positions could still be evaluated if teacher shortages remain after the existing authorized vacancies are filled.
Angara said DepEd would continue working with DBM and Congress as enrollment, class sizes, subject requirements and conditions in schools evolve.
“But while that discussion continues, may mga bakanteng posisyon na tayo ngayon na puwedeng punuan. We should not lose sight of that,” he said.
P7.58 billion for substitute teachers
The proposed 2027 budget also provides P7.582 billion for substitute teachers to keep classrooms staffed when regular teachers are temporarily unavailable.
Substitute teachers may be tapped when regular teachers are on maternity or other authorized leave, attending training and professional development activities, or temporarily unable to report for other authorized reasons.
“Hindi puwedeng tumigil ang pagkatuto ng isang bata dahil pansamantalang wala ang kanyang regular teacher,” De Leon said.
The proposed budget also seeks to address teacher workload and career advancement.
It provides P12.09 billion for the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) System, nearly double the P6.148 billion allocated in 2026. The amount would fund 135,063 position reclassifications.
The DBM has separately released P8.68 billion in salary differentials for 93,344 qualified public school personnel whose positions were reclassified under the ECP.
The system allows qualified teachers to advance without having to wait for a vacancy in a higher position, with expanded career lines from Teacher I to Teacher VII and Master Teacher positions.
More support for teachers, schools
The proposed budget also includes P10.364 billion for the P10,000 teaching allowance, covering about 1.036 million teaching and teaching-related personnel.
Another P38.782 billion is earmarked for benefits under the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, including the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance, Special Hardship Allowance, teaching overload honoraria and medical allowance for qualified civilian personnel.
DepEd personnel training is allocated P3.018 billion, including P1.864 billion for in-service training and other learning and development interventions.
To reduce the administrative burden on teachers, the proposed budget provides P840.589 million for 2,135 non-teaching positions — 1,000 School Principal I, 1,000 Project Development Officer I and 135 Administrative Officer II positions.
Another P801.583 million is proposed for 2,021 school counseling positions, consisting of 1,800 School Counselor Associate I and 221 School Division Counselor positions.
Angara said addressing the teacher shortage requires more than adding positions to the government's plantilla.
“Ang kailangan ng ating mga guro ay hindi lamang dagdag na plantilla sa papel. Kailangan nating punuan ang mga bakanteng posisyon, bilisan ang hiring, bigyan sila ng pagkakataong ma-promote, bawasan ang administrative work, at tiyaking nakukuha nila ang benepisyo at suportang nararapat sa kanila,” he said.
De Leon said the government's priority was to turn authorized positions into actual teachers in classrooms.
“The sukatan ay kung ilang guro ang aktuwal na nasa classroom at nagtuturo sa ating mga bata,” he said.###
