To Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara; 

Our fellow public servants from the National Government Agencies (NGAs), particularly our DepEd officials; 

Ang ating mga guro na nandito ngayon at sa ating Local Government Unit (LGU) sa pangunguna ng Parañaque City Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez; 

Representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs): Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC) Chairperson Benjo Basas, Ayala Foundation President Mr. Antonio “Tony” G. Lambino II, Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, Khan Academy, and WeSolve Foundation President Kenneth Abante; 

And to all our fellow champions of open governance and transformative education: 

A pleasant morning to everyone!  

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. 

Unang una po sa lahat, Happy National Teachers’ Month! Maraming salamat po sa ating mga guro, admin, at lahat ng nagpapatakbo ng ating mga paaralan for your unwavering commitment and dedication to nurturing our future generations.  

And today we have another milestone for the Department of Education, which will benefit our educators and the Filipino people—the launch of Project Bukas!  

As Chairperson of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP), whose mission is to promote transparency and accountability in government, I am very pleased to see DepEd embarking on this open data initiative. I truly hope that through this, we will be able to make learning outcomes and school characteristics data accessible through the Paaralang Bukas dashboard.  

By providing stakeholders with access to key information, we can collectively address critical questions about the state of our education system. Halimbawa:  

Nagagamit ba ang pondo sa mga proyektong makapagpapahusay sa kabataang Pilipino? 

Ano ang mga pangunahing kakulangan na kailangan pa nating tugunan? 

At ang pinakamahalaga: Paano tayo makakatulong sa pagpapabuti ng kalidad ng edukasyon sa bansa? 

Project Bukas marks a big step not only in finding answers to these fundamental questions but, more importantly, in providing a learning environment built on trust, evidence-based decisions, and a strong collective resolve within the community. 

This is aligned with our commitment to transparency at the DBM. Practice na po natin ito sa DBM kung saan lahat ng dokumento mula sa National Expenditure Program (NEP) hanggang General Appropriations Act (GAA), makikita po natin sa aming website.  

Mayroon din po tayong tinatawag na Project DIME kung saan lahat ng infrastructure projects ay makikita sa website. At ang pinakamaganda po doon sa website ng Project DIME, pwede pong mag-comment ang publiko rito.  

Masaya rin po tayo na noong August 27, pinirmahan na po natin ang Memorandum of Agreement together with DepEd para maisama po sila sa website at makita natin ang implementation progress ng lahat ng school building programs ng DepEd all over the country. Lahat po kayo, makikita n’yo ang status ng projects na ito—kung ito ba ay nasimulan at kung ito ba ay nagagawa. 

Pangalawa, mayroon din po kaming Budget ng Bayan Monitor! Palakpakan po natin ang DepEd dahil nagkamit po sila ng grade na 4.38 or a Very Satisfactory rating—a clear testament to the Department’s effective budget utilization and program delivery. Sana sa susunod na grading system ay 5.0 na po ang score ninyo. 

Mayroon din tayong ginawang amendments sa ating procurement reforms! Mayroon na tayong eMarketplace, Open Contracting, and Participatory Mechanisms for our CSOs and private organizations sa buong proseso ng procurement natin. 

At ako naman po as Chairperson of the Philippine Open Government Partnership, I am continuing to push for the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill in the 20th Congress. Sana po, samahan n’yo po kami na isulong ang pagpasa nitong RTI law. 

All these will help us as we give greater focus to education this coming FY 2026, especially because the Education sector will be receiving the highest budget it has ever received in history. 

It is under budget deliberation now in Congress, but the DBM proposed a total of Php 1.224 trillion budget for basic and higher education. For the first time, the Education sector's budget will reach 4.0 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), meeting UNESCO’s recommended spending for education. 

At balita ko, itong matatapos na budget deliberations sa House of Representatives, tinaasan pa nila ang budget ng education sector—umabot na po yata ito sa 4.1 percent!  

Of this amount, Php 928.5 billion po ang mapupunta sa Department of Education. This will cover: 

• Some 11.8 billion, which will go to the expanded School-Based Feeding Program para magkaroon po tayo ng hot meals or nutritious food products para sa ating 3 million beneficiaries; 

• Php 3.0 billion for the Last Mile Schools Program; 

• Php 645 million for the Alternative Learning System (ALS); 

• Php 28.1 billion for Basic Education Facilities—to ensure that our students learn in an environment supported by strong physical and digital infrastructure.  

• Php 16.45 billion for the DepEd Computerization Program para magkaroon po lahat ng eLearning cart packages, smart TVs, laptops, and school-wide Internet connectivity.  

Siyempre, hindi natin pwedeng kalimutan ang ating mga guro at ang mga katulong ng ating mga guro! Kayo ang susi sa pag-angat ng ating mga kabataan. Kaya naglaan po kami ng hindi lamang 5, hindi lamang 10, kundi Php 15.39 billion para dumami pa po kayo at hindi ‘yung isang teacher lang para sa daang estudyante. This means we will create over 65,000 teaching and non-teaching positions to improve the teacher-to-learner ratio and help teachers do what they do best, which is to teach. Pagkatapos po nilang magturo, pwede na po silang makauwi nang maaga at makasama ang kanilang mga pamilya. 

Bukod pa po diyan, ayaw namin na nag-aabono ang mga teacher para sa mga school materials at kung anu-ano pa. So we have allocated Php 10.3 billion to provide a teaching allowance of Php 10,000 pursuant to the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act.  

As mentioned, this is the proposed budget that we submitted to Congress. But due to recent developments in ongoing budget deliberations, some Php 26.55 billion1 may be redirected to DepEd para sa school building programs, so mas marami pang eskwelahan ang maipapatayo natin sa darating na taon.  

Truly, our gathering today symbolizes that we are moving forward with a renewed and even stronger determination toward achieving a Bagong Pilipinas that is truly accountable, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of all Filipinos. 

Maging bukas tayo para sa kinabukasan ng ating kabataan. Dahil Bawat Bukas Mahalaga. 

Maraming salamat po! Mabuhay ang DepEd at ang Bagong Pilipinas! 

END