𝗗𝗕𝗠 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝟵.𝟳𝟱-𝗕 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟬𝟴 𝗦𝗨𝗖𝘀

𝘕𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘗10 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P9.753 billion to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to cover funding deficiencies in the implementation of the Free Higher Education (FHE) Program of 108 State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) nationwide, reinforcing the Marcos Administration’s commitment to sustain access to quality tertiary education while ensuring the prudent and responsible use of limited public resources.

The release shall apply to the arrears covering Academic Years 2022–2023, 2023–2024, and 2024–2025, providing SUCs with funding support for costs incurred in implementing the government’s Free Higher Education Program. CHED, through the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), shall facilitate the corresponding release of funds to the concerned SUCs in accordance with the applicable guidelines.

DBM Acting Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said the release reflects President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to keep education among the government’s foremost priorities, even as the Administration carefully balances competing demands for limited fiscal resources.

“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘗10 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦,” De Leon said.

“𝘒𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘰𝘯, 𝘬𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘵𝘶𝘸𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘜𝘊𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴,” he added.

The P9.753-billion release will help settle FHE costs that SUCs had previously absorbed using their available institutional resources. By addressing these deficiencies, the National Government helps ease the financial pressure on SUCs and provides them greater fiscal space to support other lawful institutional priorities.

These may include strengthening academic and research programs, improving student services, upgrading laboratories, libraries and information technology resources, maintaining and improving learning facilities, supporting medical, dental, guidance, athletic and cultural services, and, subject to applicable budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and the availability of the appropriate funds, undertaking the rehabilitation, improvement or expansion of academic and other university facilities.

The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act recognizes many of these services and facilities as integral to the delivery of quality higher education. It likewise requires SUCs to maintain development plans that include facilities and infrastructure development and expansion.

De Leon said the release underscores the government’s continuing support for public higher education.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘗10 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 108 𝘚𝘜𝘊𝘴. 𝘒𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘣𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘚𝘜𝘊𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴,” De Leon said.

“𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘚𝘜𝘊𝘴. 𝘉𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥—𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴,” he added.

The DBM issued the P9.753-billion release to CHED, which will facilitate the corresponding release to the 108 beneficiary SUCs pursuant to the applicable guidelines on the release of funds for Free Higher Education deficiencies. The amount is chargeable against the agency’s built-in appropriations under the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act and the Special Account in the General Fund–Higher Education Development Fund (SAGF-HEDF).

The FHE Program, established under Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, provides free tuition and other school fees in SUCs and CHED-recognized local universities and colleges, significantly reducing the cost of tertiary education for Filipino students and their families.

De Leon stressed that responsible budgeting requires government to carefully sequence and prioritize expenditures based on available fiscal space, legal authority, readiness, and the urgency of competing national requirements.

“𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘣𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰. 𝘒𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘴, 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘵𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯, 𝘴𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘺𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘢𝘯,” De Leon said.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳: 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦, 𝘋𝘉𝘔 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦,” he added.

For De Leon, the significance of the P9.753-billion release ultimately goes beyond government accounting.

“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵,” De Leon said.

The DBM said the release forms part of the Marcos Administration’s broader effort to maximize available fiscal resources and ensure that government spending delivers the greatest possible benefit to Filipinos, particularly through sustained investments in education and human capital development.