Youth group hits funding cuts in education, health
While the proposed P6.8-trillion spending plan for 2026 touts a larger allocation for the education sector, several critical programs that support learning recovery and youth well-being actually suffered budget cuts, a civil society organization (CSO) said on Thursday.
“At first glance, the budget seems large,” said Leizl Adame, executive director of the youth advocacy group Center for Youth Advocacy and Networking (CYAN). “But upon closer inspection, there is little left for our marginalized youth and students, learning recovery, addressing learning poverty, digital infrastructure, or school health programs.”
CYAN is among 21 CSOs that are participating in “town hall” hearings being conducted by the House committee on appropriations as part of the lower chamber’s declared thrust to open the traditionally opaque process to public scrutiny.
CYAN said the cuts are in the youth-related programs proposed by the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DOH) in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Special needs affected
Under this year’s NEP, the education sector is to get the lion’s share of next year’s budget with P1.2 trillion—up from last year’s P1 trillion—as the government aims to meet the United Nations recommendation to allot 4-6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product to education.
But Adame said the DepEd’s P850 million budget for special needs education actually had a reduction of P150 million from last year’s P1 billion. Funds for indigenous people’s education was also halved from P154 million to P74 million, which she warned would “reduce support for culturally responsive teaching for indigenous communities.”
The Madrasah Education Program which supports Muslim learners was also slightly reduced from P498 million to P496 million, she added.
Other basic education inputs also suffered major reductions, Adame said, including the budget for textbooks and instructional materials (from P12 billion to P11 billion), and learning tools and equipment (from P3.5 billion to P2.9 billion).
The basic education curriculum budget was also reduced by P132 million, while physical fitness and school sports was slashed by P256 million, she added.
Moral compass
There is also no clear allocation for mental health and adolescent health programs under the DOH.
“We recognize that the budget is not just a technical document. It is the moral compass of government. If you ask the youth who are suffering from a learning crisis, digital divide, climate anxiety, mental health struggles and increasing teenage pregnancy—the answer is: we don’t really feel the budget,” Adame noted.
The group called on House appropriations committee chair and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing to, among others, reconsider the NEP allocations for learning recovery, digital skills, adolescent health and support for out-of-school and climate-vulnerable youth, IP and Muslim youth and other marginalized youth.
