Budget watchdog seeks full funding for health, education

Social Watch Philippines is urging the Senate to reallocate PHP 297.4 billion from questionable line items in the 2026 national budget and direct an additional PHP 233.2 billion to marginalized sectors, including health, education, and persons with disabilities.

The group issued the call during Senate budget deliberations as it warned that the Universal Health Care program remains significantly underfunded.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. received only PHP 53.3 billion for 2026, which is far below the PHP 242 billion requested by the agency.

To close the gap, Social Watch Philippines proposed adding PHP 189.28 billion to the National Health Insurance Program to cover insurance premiums for indirect contributors excluded by the Department of Budget and Management from the National Expenditure Program.

The group also flagged chronic underfunding of programs for marginalized learners under the Department of Education.

Inclusive education programs such as Indigenous Peoples Education, Special Needs Education, Madrasah Education, and the Alternative Learning System account for less than 2% of the department’s budget despite rising subsidies for private schools.

The group proposed PHP 28.003 billion for the Alternative Learning System, Special Needs Education, Early Childhood Care and Development, teacher support, and education in emergencies.

In the area of child protection, Social Watch Philippines cited a surge in online sexual abuse and exploitation, including 471,416 children trafficked in 2022 to produce pornographic materials.

A total of 92,000 reports were filed that year, with 94.5% involving child pornography, yet only 3% of affected children knew about available helplines.

To respond, the group recommended PHP 122 million for 38 Department of Health hospitals with Women and Children Protection Units and PHP 18.298 million for programs that enable child participation in combating online abuse.

Mental health support for students also remains inadequate, with few trained counselors in schools and many mental health positions unfilled.

To address this, the group urged the Senate to allocate PHP 6.84 billion for hiring plantilla personnel under the Basic Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act of 2024.

The group sought PHP 73.9 million for the School Mental Health Program and Learner Wellness Division, PHP 52 million for the Department of Education Child Protection Program, and PHP 10 million to evaluate the effectiveness of school Child Protection Committees.

Social Watch Philippines also recommended a PHP 2,000 monthly allowance for persons with severe disabilities to help cover therapy, assistive devices, home modifications, and transportation.

The proposed PHP 8.78 billion under the Department of Social Welfare and Development could support an estimated 345,000 Filipinos.

The group also proposed PHP 23.582 million to support Filipino Sign Language inclusion by strengthening the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino’s Filipino Sign Language (FSL) unit.

To fund these recommendations, the group identified several items for possible reallocation, including PHP 10.5 billion from the House of Representatives’ budget increase and PHP 10 billion from presidential assistance to farmers and fisherfolk.

It also cited PHP 16.8 billion from farm-to-market roads, PHP 31.8 billion in Basic Education Facilities beyond agency requests, and PHP 49.2 billion from Medical Assistance to Indigent and Medically Incapacitated Patients, which it suggested transferring to PhilHealth.

Additional potential sources include PHP 14.8 billion from the TUPAD emergency employment program, PHP 32 billion from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) social program, and PHP 132.3 billion from Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Alleviating Gaps (SIPAG) infrastructure projects.

Social Watch Philippines presented its proposals to the office of Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Nov. 17 and submitted supporting documents to other senators for consideration.