The Department of Finance (DOF) is fueling the country’s future by funding the education of approximately 22.543 million public school students and the salaries of 899,457 public school teachers nationwide for the school year 2024 to 2025, ensuring that every Filipino learner has access to quality basic education.
On top of this, the DOF also supports the Special Education Fund (SEF), which finances the maintenance of schools, teacher allowances, educational resources, and other learning essentials beyond what is covered by the national budget.
This effort aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s vision of a Bagong Pilipinas anchored on investments in people, facilities, and the promise of equal opportunity for every Filipino learner.
“Education will always be at the top of this administration’s priorities because our people are our greatest asset. Kaya laging handa ang DOF na suportahan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga mag-aaral para mabigyan ng magandang kinabukasan ang bawat isa,” said Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto.
“Our goal is to also equip every Filipino with a strong educational foundation and future-ready skills, especially in fast-evolving, AI-driven industries. For we want to produce the best and the brightest workforce in the world,” he added.
The SEF, created under Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, is generated from an additional annual 1% tax on the assessed value of real property collected by local government units (LGUs) that is automatically released to Local School Boards (LSB).
It serves as a supplementary budget for the operations, maintenance, and improvement of public schools. Recent regulations have expanded the allowable uses to include support for distance learning and mental health services.
To strengthen the SEF’s impact, the DOF signed a Joint Circular (JC) with concerned national agencies to establish clear and transparent guidelines for the effective use of the SEF to close learning gaps and enhance education outcomes nationwide.
The Circular also guides the establishment, duties, and responsibilities of the LSBs, which are responsible for the management and utilization of the SEF.
The DOF’s major interventions in the development of the JC strengthened mechanisms for monitoring, transparency, and accountability in the utilization of the SEF, supporting the objective of enhancing the quality of basic education.
Under the JC, the DOF-Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF), which oversees the revenue operations of LGUs, is responsible for preparing consolidated data on SEF receipts, budget appropriations, and disbursements based on the reports submitted by local budget officers and local treasurers.
In addition, the DOF-BLGF is tasked to monitor the compliance of LGUs in the quarterly submission of the SEF Report.
Other signatories of the JC included the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Education (DEPED), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
DOF HEARTS Series
This series showcases how the DOF is funding the nation’s HEARTS (H-health, E-education, A-agriculture and environment, R-roads and infrastructure, T-technology, and S– security and social protection) to bring us to Bagong Pilipinas.
