Senate to prioritize education in 2026 budget — Gatchalian
At the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Gatchalian, who now chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said the 2026 budget will be referred to as an 'education budget.'
'First of all, we will prioritize education in the 2026 budget. This will be an education budget. We also heard it from our president—his speech dedicated a significant portion to education,' he said in Filipino.
Gatchalian added that the Senate aims to raise education spending to over 4 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
'Right now, it's around 3.8 to 3.9 percent, and there were times in the past when we reached 4 percent, but it went down. For 2026, we will push to bring it back to 4 percent of GDP,' he added.
The 1987 Constitution mandates the government to assign the highest budgetary priority to education and to ensure that teaching positions attract top talent through adequate compensation and other incentives.
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