Suportado ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ang panukalang i-realign ang P250 bilyong halaga ng flood control allocations sa konstruksyon ng mga silid-aralan, na ngayon ay mayroon lamang P13 bilyon sa ilalim ng National Expenditure Program (NEP) para sa 2026.
Si Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste ang nagpanukala nito sa isinagawang Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing.
Ang P6.7-trilyong panukalang national budget ay naglaan ng P274 bilyong halaga ng flood control para sa susunod na taon.
“The President has indicated that flood control projects are a possible source of corruption and yet the 2026 NEP includes over P250 billion in flood control projects while the provision for new classrooms is at P13 billion,” ayon kay Leviste.
“Based on the substandard and overpriced [Department of Public Works and Highways] projects we have seen, closing the gap on [the Department of Education’s] classroom shortage seems to be a much wiser use of taxpayers’ money than DPWH flood control projects in the 2026 budget,” dagdag pa ni Leviste.
Sinabi naman ni Budget Secretary at DBCC Chair Amenah Pangandaman na “welcome” sa kanila ang suhestiyon ni Leviste, “as long as” episyenteng gagastusin ng Department of Education (DepEd) ang nasabing malaking alokasyon.
“The executive proposes the budget and then we leave it to Congress whether you think it’s wise to cut the flood control budget and move it to education, but we welcome such because, again, the theme of our budget for next year will be really to increase our investment and spending in education,” ayon kay Pangandaman.
“As long as the Department of Education can fully utilize the added allocation for the construction of classrooms, that would be okay,” dagdag pa niya.
Nito lamang araw ng Lunes, sinabi ng kalihim na hindi kakayanin ng bansa na pondohan ang mga programa sa edukasyon, kalusugan, at social protection base sa international standards dahil lalampas ito sa kasalukuyang budget level. Kris Jose
