MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte leaves to Congress the fate of proposed confidential funds for the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2024.

• Duterte defends P150M confidential funds under DepEd's proposed 2024 budget

Duterte, however, maintained that the department needs those funds when Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman asked her if she was open to withdrawing the request for confidential funds.

"There is a purpose and a need for confidential funds in the DepEd, because basic education is intertwined with national security. But of course, as we always say, we leave it to the discretion of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the wisdom of granting confidential funds to DepEd," Duterte said.

• Lawmaker asks: Where did DepEd's P150-M confidential funds go?

Under the 2024 budget proposal, the department has P150 million in confidential funds, while the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has P500 million in confidential funds.

• Lawmaker asks: Where did DepEd's P150-M confidential funds go?

Both Duterte and DepEd Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa maintained the education department uses its confidential funds within the parameters of the Commission on Audit's rules.

Meanwhile, Poa noted that confidential funds could be authorized by other laws besides the annual national budget, after being grilled by ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro.

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Earlier in his interpellation, Lagman got Duterte to confirm the shortages in the basic education system that the department had to confront.

"There is not enough budget to address all the projects and the programs that the Department of Education wants to implement to improve basic education in our country," Duterte said.

Poa said there was a shortage of 165,000 classrooms.

Meanwhile, DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing reported that some 300,000 school buildings need major repairs.

The DepEd also needs P5 billion to ensure a 1:1 ratio of textbook to learner and a 1:1 teacher to module ratio.

The Deped also needs 89,000 teachers.

• DepEd told to fix process of hiring teachers

Duterte maintained blended learning is part of the equation to address these concerns as she admitted they originally wanted almost P1 trillion for the department.

"For the next FY we requested approximately P900 billion for the budget of the Department of Education, we were approved approximately P700 billion in the National Expenditure Program," she said.