Senators back restoration of funding for DepEd’s Aral Program

MANILA, Philippines — Senators are eyeing the restoration of funding for the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (Aral) program.

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During the Senate Committee on Finance’s hearing on DepEd’s 2027 spending plan on Friday, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Sens. Bam Aquino, Joel Villanueva, and Erwin Tulfo separately raised concerns over the zero allocation for Aral.

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Tulfo was the first to question the lack of a dedicated budget for the program, pointing out that DepEd had sought P15.32 billion for Aral but received no allocation under the National Expenditure Program (Nep).

The House-approved General Appropriations Bill (Gab), meanwhile, included only P350 million for the program, which Tulfo described as a mere pittance.

“P15.32 billion po ang request po ninyo and zero po sa Nep. I don’t understand bakit ginawang zero po ito. Pero ang Gab naman, naawa pa ng konti, nilagyan ng 350 million, nagbibigay ng barya,” Tulfo said.

(You requested P15.32 billion, but the NEP allocated zero. I don’t understand why it was zeroed out. The GAB, meanwhile, took pity a little and allotted P350 million, just loose change)

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Aral, established under Republic Act No. 12028, provides remedial instruction in reading, mathematics and science to learners who are falling behind their expected grade-level competencies.

Asked to explain the program, DepEd Usec. Carmela Oracion said Aral was a key strategy to improve learning outcomes.

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She cited a decline in struggling readers from 6.7 million at the start of its first year of implementation to 2.2 million by the end of the school year.

Oracion said the program uses a tutorial model, with teachers handling groups of 10 to 15 learners.

Schools determine whether sessions are held before or after classes, during breaks, or on Saturdays.

Department of Budget and Management Director Vivien Labastilla explained that Aral had no separate line item in the proposed budget because its funding had been attributed to the allocation for textbooks and other instructional materials.

Tulfo questioned how tutors would be paid under this arrangement.

Labastilla said their compensation could be charged to overtime pay, prompting the senator to urge the DBM to account for the program’s funding requirements in future budget proposals.

Later in the hearing, Gatchalian also said he would push to restore funding for the program.

“It’s delivering what it tends to deliver but this year, na-zero yung budget ng Aral… Kung ano pa ‘yung gumagana, ‘yun pa ‘yung nawala,” Gatchalian said.

(It’s delivering the results it is expected to deliver, but this year, the ARAL program’s budget was zeroed out. What’s working is precisely what lost its funding.)

Villanueva, meanwhile, called the lack of allocation “unacceptable.”

“Mr. Chairman, let me  just point it out… When I found out that it was zero, the first word that came out to my mind was ‘stupid.’ I mean, I really can’t comprehend bakit ginawa ‘yun, (why they did that)” Villanueva said.

Per Aquino’s questioning, Labastilla clarified that there is no line item for the Aral program as the budget for the program is lodged in other items.

The funding concerns echo previous budget deliberations, when lawmakers had to find ways to fund Aral through other allocations despite the absence of a dedicated line item in the proposed budget.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said they had relied on congressional insertions in other budget items to fund Aral in previous years.

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In an interview with reporters in the Senate, Gatchalian later said he would work with Aquino to push for an increase in education spending. /gsg