Senator Sherwin Gatchalian addressed concerns about the 2025 Government Appropriations Act, asserting that the budgets for the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) are rightfully categorized under the education sector. Speaking at the regular Kapihan sa Senado, Gatchalian emphasized that these institutions offer Bachelor of Science degrees, classifying them as tertiary education institutions (TEIs) and thus part of the broader education sector.
Gatchalian, who leads the Senate Committee on Basic Education and co-chairs the 2nd Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), clarified that the confusion stems from a narrow view of education as solely basic education under the Department of Education (DepEd). He pointed out that the Constitution broadly defines education without specifying basic, tertiary, or technical-vocational education. According to Article XIV, Section 5 (5) of the Constitution, education is to receive the highest budgetary priority.
The senator confirmed that the education sector retains the highest allocation in the 2025 budget, totaling PHP1.055 trillion. This figure surpasses the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways, which was reduced to PHP1.007 trillion. Gatchalian noted that including tertiary education institutions in the calculation significantly increases the education sector’s allocation.
The education budget is distributed among various entities including DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Local Government Academy, the Philippine Public Safety College, the National Defense College of the Philippines, the Philippine Science High School System, the Science Education Institute, state universities and colleges, as well as the PNPA and PMA.