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Neil Jayson Servallos - The Philippine Star
February 14, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — With the United States’ 90-day foreign aid freeze, the Philippines is set to lose over P4 billion in assistance for key education initiatives, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said yesterday.
In a letter to US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, Angara expressed his appreciation for the US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s long-standing support in improving basic education in the Philippines.
Affected initiatives include the ABC+ project for early-grade learning, the Improving Learning Outcomes for the Philippines project and Gabay, which provides support for learners with special needs.
Meanwhile, the ALS Tracer Study and Opportunity 2.0 programs are set for completion in February 2025.
Angara said the Department of Education is requesting the USAID to turn over project materials, which would help the DepEd efficiently use resources and seek alternative sources of funding.
The DepEd will accelerate textbook procurement to ensure students have materials before the opening of the next school year, Angara noted.
The agency will also strengthen the capacity of its curriculum and teaching strand, he said.
“We recognize the tremendous impact of the USAID’s contributions to Philippine education. While we await the resolution of this suspension, the DepEd will move forward and ensure that President Marcos’ reforms in education remain on track,” Angara said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a Munich conference to seek clarification on the USAID-funded programs in the country that will be affected by policy directives of the Trump administration.
“It’s always been an important area, I mean a form of assistance, but of course, it’s the US sovereign right to decide on how to undertake their programs,” Manalo said. “We’d like to perhaps seek clarification exactly on what will be affected.”
In Germany, Manalo will participate in the 61st Munich Security Conference from Feb. 14-16. He will be a lead discussant in the roundtable on “Making Waves: Maritime Tensions in the Indo-Pacific” on Feb. 15 at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof.
Exploitation of teachers
Meanwhile, the growing exploitation of teachers in the workplace has become severe, according to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
Public school teachers’ complaints about workload and declining quality of education have been validated by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), ACT NCR union president Ruby Bernardo said.
“The EDCOM II report validates our persistent complaints about teacher exploitation. When two of three teachers work beyond 40 hours weekly – mostly on administrative tasks rather than teaching duties – we have a serious systemic problem,” Bernardo said.
“Teachers are forced to handle subjects outside their expertise while juggling countless non-teaching duties,” she noted.
Salaries of educators remain insufficient amid rising costs of living, Bernardo pointed out.
“The entry-level salary of teacher 1 at P30,024 is far from the P50,000 monthly living wage needed by a family of five,” she said.
65% of national budget released
The government has released P4.1 trillion, or roughly 65 percent of the P6.3-trillion national budget this year, as state agencies begin to implement their various programs.
The disbursed amount as of end-January has left a remaining balance of P2.2 trillion, based on the latest Department of Budget and Management data.
Of the released budget, state agencies received P2.8 trillion, representing 75.9 percent of the P3.69-trillion allocated budget for departments.
About P109 billion was released for special purpose funds, representing 20.6 percent of its P529.6-billion allocation.
For automatic appropriations, about P1.19 trillion was disbursed, accounting for 56.5 percent of the P2.105-trillion aggregate funding.
The DBM has fully released allocations for the national tax allotment (P1.03 trillion), block grants (P83.42 billion) and retirement and life insurance premiums (P66.55 billion).
No disbursements have been made yet for other items under automatic appropriations, such as pension of former presidents and their widows, net lending, interest payments and tax expenditures fund or customs duties and taxes.
About P93.13 million was released under 2024 continuing appropriations.
Data showed this was allotted to state universities and colleges. – Pia Lee-Brago, Catherine Talavera
