Press Release
September 19, 2017

Bam: DepEd must catch up on underspending

Sen. Bam Aquino urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to address its underspending to speed up delivery of needed learning materials to millions of primary and secondary students in the country.

"The DepEd needs to be more efficient in its delivery, which can hamper the delivery of learning materials and other needs to our students," said Sen. Bam, vice chairman of the Committee on Finance, during the hearing for the DepEd's P613.1 billion budget for 2018.

"There is money budgeted but not spent. This means the Filipino people aren't receiving all the learning materials and education services the government can provide," Sen. Bam emphasized.

"For a student, it doesn't matter if there is a lack of funds, or inefficiency in spending the funds, parehas lang yan sa kanya, wala pa rin ang mga libro at kagamitan," he added.

Based on briefing materials submitted by DepEd to Sen Bam, the agency has completed only 3.65 percent obligation in relation to appropriation for learning resources such as textbooks, Science and Math equipment, computerization and library for 2017.

"Sayang naman ang mga kagamitan, gaya ng libro at iba pang materyales na mabibigay sana natin sa mga estudyante upang suportahan ang kanilang pag-aaral. That is almost 14 billion pesos worth of learning materials not delivered to our students and teachers," said Sen. Bam.

Also, the DepEd only released 30 percent of its P109-billion budget for classrooms, leaving the agency with P76 billion unspent for the construction of around 15,000 classrooms in 2017.

Responding to Sen. Bam's call, DepEd Sec. Briones vowed to catch up on their underspending and ensure their budget is maximized moving forward.

"We've been working to raise more money for education in the Philippines so let's use the budget more efficiently and ensure we are investing as much as we can into the education of young Filipinos," said Sen. Bam.

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Bam: DepEd dapat habulin ang 'underspending'

Nanawagan si Sen. Bam Aquino sa Department of Education (DepEd) na tugunan ang underspending upang mapabilis ang paghahatid ng kailangang learning materials sa milyun-milyong elementary at high school students sa bansa.

"The DepEd needs to be more efficient in its delivery, which can hamper the delivery of learning materials and other needs to our students," wika ni Sen. Bam, vice chairman ng the Committee on Finance, sa pagdinig ng P613.1 billion budget ng DepEd para sa 2018.

"There is money budgeted but not spent. This means the Filipino people aren't receiving all the learning materials and education services the government can provide," giit ni Sen. Bam.

"For a student, it doesn't matter if there is a lack of funds, or inefficiency in spending the funds, parehas lang yan sa kanya, wala pa rin ang mga libro at kagamitan," dagdag pa niya.

Batay sa briefing materials na isinumite ng DepEd kay Sen. Bam, nabatid na 3.65 porsiyento lang ng obligasyon nito sa learning resources tulad ng libro, Science and Math equipment, computerization at library para sa 2017.

"Sayang naman ang mga kagamitan, gaya ng libro at iba pang materyales na mabibigay sana natin sa mga estudyante upang suportahan ang kanilang pag-aaral. That is almost 14 billion pesos worth of learning materials not delivered to our students and teachers," wika ni Sen. Bam.

Maliban pa rito, nasa 30 porsiyento lang ang nailabas ng DepEd sa P109-bilyong budget para sa classrooms, kaya may natitira pang P76 billion ang ahensiya para sa pagtatayo ng 15,000 classrooms ngayong taon.

Bilang tugon kay Sen. Bam's call, nangako si DepEd Sec. Briones na hahabulin ang underspending upang magamit nang husto ang budget ng ahensiya.

"We've been working to raise more money for education in the Philippines so let's use the budget more efficiently and ensure we are investing as much as we can into the education of young Filipinos," wika ni Sen. Bam.

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