Special education (SPED) in the country has no allocated budget for 2023 after the Department of Education (DepEd) did not submit documentation for its request, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
The DBM said that the DepEd did not provide supporting documentation for the proposed retention of the budget for the program.
The documentation includes details of the proposed amount with specific purposes, the basis of computations, and the status of the ongoing conversion and establishment of Inclusive Learning Resource Centers (ILRCs).
“While the Department of Education proposed the retention of the line item for the purpose under the FY 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP), no sufficient documentation was provided to support the same,” the DBM said in an emailed statement.
The DBM also mentioned that the obligation rate of the SPED program was only 1.13% as of June 30, 2022. The said number corresponds to only P6.35 million from the P560.202 million budget.
There is a P1.216-billion surplus from the operations of elementary and junior high schools under the DepEd’s maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), the DBM added.
“[W]e deemed that the program support or additional allocation for the smooth implementation of the SPED may already be accommodated within the same program, and that a separate budget for the purpose may no longer be necessary,” the DBM said.
“Further, please note that during budget execution, items may be realigned and modified by the implementing agency to accommodate the requirements of any program that is in dire need of additional resources,” it added.
— Ronald Espartinez