Teachers: Why are PMA, PNPA funds in education budget?

The Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC) is reviewing whether the Marcos administration unlawfully lumped military and police academy funds with those of the education sector to meet the required amount under the Constitution.

- NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS

The TDC said it was speaking with lawyers and Department of Education (DepEd) officials about the matter, stressing that the group was considering a case before the Supreme Court to challenge the legality of the 2025 national outlay.

“We are speaking with lawyers and DepEd officials for information about this, about whether the Supreme Court would favor this, because it appears this is a circumvention of the law,” TDC chairman Benjo Basas said in a Teleradyo interview.

The group was questioning how the P1.055-trillion funding for the education sector – which holds the lion’s share of the 2025 general appropriations – included the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) and the Local Government Academy (LGA), which traditionally obtained their allocations from their own agencies.

The PMA and NDCP are under the Department of National Defense, while the PNPA, PPSC and LGA are under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.