21/09/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐ณ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐, ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐?
๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ญ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ
A countryโs priorities are revealed not only by what its leaders promise, but by what they are willing to invest in.
The proposed 2027 national budget has raised an uncomfortable question among teachers, aspiring educators, students, and ordinary Filipinos: If education is truly the highest budgetary priority of the State, why does the future of the people who make education possible still feel uncertain?
The controversy began with reports that the proposed 2027 budget contains no allocation for the creation of another batch of Teacher I positions. The phrase โzero budget for new teachersโ understandably alarmed many, particularly aspiring educators. But the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) clarified that this does not mean that DepEd will stop hiring teachers. The proposed budget provides โฑ31.22 billion to fill 64,530 authorized teaching positionsโ31,614 existing vacancies and 32,916 positions newly created and approved in May 2026. As of September 4, DepEd reported that 25,019 teaching positions remained unfilled.
The distinction matters.
There is a difference between not creating another batch of positions and not hiring teachers at all. The government is not shutting the door on teacher applicants. Thousands of authorized positions remain available, and these positions do not simply disappear because they are not immediately filled. The government's position is therefore understandable: why create thousands more positions when tens of thousands of existing ones still need teachers? It would be difficult to call that responsible budgeting. The immediate task should indeed be to turn authorized positions into actual teachers standing in classrooms. The proposed budget also includes funding beyond regular teaching positions, including โฑ7.582 billion for substitute teachers, โฑ12.09 billion for the Expanded Career Progression System, โฑ10.364 billion for the โฑ10,000 teaching allowance, and โฑ38.782 billion for teacher benefits under the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers. These are meaningful investments and should not be ignored simply to strengthen an argument. But filling today's vacancies cannot be the end of the conversation. DepEd had requested funding for another 14,274 teaching positions, estimated to require approximately โฑ4.29 billion. These additional positions were not included in the proposed National Expenditure Program, although DepEd has indicated that the need may be reassessed as staffing gaps become clearer.
And this is where Filipinos have every reason to ask: What happens after the existing positions are filled?
A vacant position and a teacher shortage are not necessarily the same problem. A position may exist on paper while a school in another community continues to struggle with overcrowded classrooms or insufficient personnel. Enrollment changes. Class sizes change. Subject requirements change. Communities grow. Educational needs do not remain frozen simply because a budget document has already been prepared.
This is not an argument for creating positions recklessly. It is an argument for planning ahead.
The government should be able to fill existing vacancies while continuously assessing whether additional teachers are needed. If the evidence shows that more teachers are necessary, then new positions should be created.
After all, the Constitution itself provides a standard by which the country's investment in education should be examined.
๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ(๐ฑ) ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ต๐ด๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป states that the State shall โassign the highest budgetary priority to educationโ and ensure that teaching attracts and retains its โrightful share of the best available talentsโ through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment. This provision is important because it goes beyond simply saying that education deserves money. It recognizes that teachers are central to education and that the State has a responsibility to make teaching a profession capable of attracting and retaining talented people. ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ค๐ง๐, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐, โ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ก๐ค๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ?โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐จ: โ๐ฟ๐ค๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ'๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฎ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐?โ That question becomes especially meaningful for the thousands of Filipinos preparing to enter the teaching profession.
Last September 20, 2026, aspiring professional teachers sat for the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers. Many of them have spent years preparing for that moment. They have endured lectures, examinations, teaching demonstrations, lesson planning, classroom observations, and practicum. They have invested not only money and time, but a significant part of their lives into becoming educators.
For many, passing the LEPT is supposed to be the beginning of a career. But what happens when someone who has spent years preparing to teach sees headlines suggesting that there will be no new teaching positions in the following year? Even after the government's clarification, the anxiety is understandable. What does an Education student think when the profession they are preparing to enter suddenly appears uncertain? What does a fresh graduate feel after earning a degree and preparing for licensure exam, only to wonder whether the country has enough room for the profession they worked so hard to enter? These are not questions that can be answered by a budget spreadsheet alone. They are questions about hope, confidence, and the future of the teaching profession.
Among the public reactions to the issue, some Filipinos have expressed the belief that the Philippines does not give teachers what they are worth and that going abroad may be the only way forward. That sentiment should concern policymakers. It would be unfair to claim that every teacher wants to leave the country or that the proposed budget alone will cause teachers to migrate. But when aspiring professionals begin seeing overseas employment as a more attractive future than serving in their own country, the government should pay attention. Teachers have every right to pursue opportunities abroad. Seeking better compensation and professional growth is not a betrayal of one's country.
๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐๐, ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ.
The Philippines invests years educating its future teachers. If those teachers eventually leave because they believe their skills and profession are more valued elsewhere, the country loses more than employees. It loses people who could have educated the future doctors, engineers, scientists, leaders, and citizens of the nation. ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐. ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ค๐ฅ๐จ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก๐จ, ๐ซ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐จ, ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ. ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค๐๐๐ฎ'๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐จ๐ง๐ค๐ค๐ข๐จ. ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐จ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ช๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ง๐ค๐ฌ.
Still, critics may argue that it is unfair to accuse the government of neglecting education. After all, โฑ31.22 billion is already available to fill 64,530 authorized teaching positions, while billions more are allocated for teacher benefits, career progression, allowances, substitute teachers, training, and support personnel. That argument deserves recognition. But acknowledging government investment does not mean we should stop asking whether that investment is enough. Responsible budgeting and strong investment in education are not opposites.
The government can fill existing vacancies while preparing for future shortages. It can identify why authorized positions remain unfilled, improve recruitment and deployment, and assess which schools and communities need more teachers. When actual needs justify them, additional positions can then be created. At the same time, the government can continue improving compensation, working conditions, career opportunities, and professional support so that teachers are not merely hired but encouraged to stay. This is what it should mean to give education the highest budgetary priorityโnot simply more numbers on paper or another line in a national budget, but teachers in classrooms, students receiving adequate attention, manageable workloads, supported educators, and a profession that talented Filipinos can realistically build their lives around. The โฑ31.22 billion allocation should therefore be recognized for what it is: a significant commitment to filling thousands of authorized teaching positions. But it should not become an excuse to stop asking what comes next. The issue is not whether the government is hiring teachers in 2027. It is whether the country is preparing adequately for the teachers it will need tomorrow.
To us in the College of Teacher Education, this uncertainty may be discouraging. We may wonder where our degree will take us, whether opportunities will be waiting for us after graduation, or whether the profession we have chosen will have enough room for us. But this uncertainty should never weaken our will to serve our purpose. We entered this profession to educate, to guide, and to make a difference in the lives of our future learners. Whatever challenges may come, they should not make us lose sight of why we chose to become teachers in the first place.
To every Education student studying late at night, the fresh graduate preparing for the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT), and the child who dreams of becoming a teacher someday: your dream should not feel like something your own country cannot afford. A classroom cannot teach itself. A curriculum cannot explain itself. A textbook cannot inspire a child on its own. Behind every lesson is a teacher. Behind every teacher is a dream. And behind every educated generation is a country that chose to invest in them. The government is right: existing teaching positions must be filled. But Filipinos are also right to ask for more: What happens after they are filled? If education truly deserves the highest budgetary priority promised by the Constitution, then the answer cannot simply be to count how much we have spent. We must ask whether we have invested enough in the people who make education possible. Because when we fail to invest in teachers, we do not simply leave positions unfilled. We leave classrooms without mentors, children without guidance, and the future without the people who are supposed to prepare it. ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃโ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ.
๐๐ข๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค
