The Philippines’ budget for basic education as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product remains to be low compared to those of its Southeast Asian neighbors, a study published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies showed. "Despite increases in national government spending on the education sector, the Philippines continues to under spend in education in comparison with its Southeast Asian neighbors like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam,” PIDS Senior Research Fellow Rosario Manasan said. In a paper titled, Analysis of the President’s Budget for 2013, Manasan said that the Philippines’ total allocation for basic education compares "unfavorably” with those of its Southeast Asian neighbors, as it is estimated to be equal to 2.3 percent of GDP in 2012. Citing World Bank data, Manasan said that in 2002 to 2007, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam spent around 4.1 percent of their GDP, on the average, on basic education. Among the various departments, the Department of Education was the "top gainer” in the 2013 budget, Manasan said. The budget of the DepEd increased to P292.2 billion this year from P238.8 billion in 2012. "The P53.4 billion increase in the proposed budget of DepEd in 2013 is more than two-and-a-half times the increase in its budget in 2012,” Manasan said. "Given the sustained support given to the DepEd, significant gains have been achieved in closing the input gaps (teachers, textbooks, seats, in particular) in public elementary and secondary schools. However, the classroom deficit remains to be addressed completely,” she added. For 2014, the DepEd’s budget is proposed to go up by 15 percent to P336.9 billion. This allocation will help cover the basic education needs of at least 16,862,916 Filipino students in the kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school levels, the Department of Budget and Management said. Under the DepEd’s proposed budget for 2014, a total of P44.6 billion will be allocated for the provision and maintenance of basic educational facilities, including the continuing construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, the construction of water and sanitation facilities, and the acquisition of school furniture, among others. Included as well in the DepEd’s proposed budget is a P8.6 billion allocation for the creation of 33,194 teaching positions across the country.
