by Dr. Tony Leachon
Half of our public schools — 23,000 campuses — operate without principals.
No captain to steer the ship. No leader to guide teachers and learners.
The 2027 national budget allocates ₱0 for new principal positions.
The Department of Education (DepEd) requested ₱10.5 billion to hire 14,000 Principal I posts, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) denied it.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian now vows to correct this injustice through additional allotments.
Meanwhile, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara is easing qualification exams (NQESH/NASH) to accelerate promotions — a stopgap measure, not a structural fix.
The deeper problem is budgetary neglect.
⚖️ Who’s to Blame
• Executive branch: DBM excluded principal funding from the 2027 National Expenditure Program.
• DepEd leadership: Working on reforms but constrained by fiscal ceilings.
• Congress: Continues to prioritize Unprogrammed Appropriations, discretionary funds that ballooned to ₱450 billion, dwarfing allocations for health and education.
🩺 Health and Education: The Forgotten Priorities
• Health promotion budget cut from ₱2.5 billion to ₱485 million, undermining the Universal Health Care Law.
• Education sector faces stagnant teacher hiring and leadership gaps.
• Unprogrammed funds remain lawmakers’ favorite — flexible, opaque, and politically convenient.
💬 Reflection
A nation that neglects its teachers and doctors is a nation that forgets its future.
Leadership begins in the classroom and compassion begins in the clinic.
When half of our schools have no principals and hospitals lack health workers, governance loses its moral compass.
Senate President Gatchalian’s pledge is a start — but promises must translate into pesos.
Education and health are not expenses; they are investments in dignity.
#RelentlessForChange
Tony Leachon
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