Danniell Domingo

Due to the insufficiency in school operations budget, 70% of elementary schools depend on funds from Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) as one of their alternative funding sources, The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) cited on Oct. 29.

Photo Courtesy of US Agency for International Development.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) bared findings that many elementary schools also receive funding from the Local Government Units (LGUs), profits from school canteen, and teachers’ out-of-pocket spending, following the insufficiency of the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) budget for each school.

Now that the House of Representatives have submitted the ₱6.352 trillion national budget to the Senate, the Department of Education (DepEd) allocates 7.05% of their total proposed budget of ₱793.2 billion to MOOE.

The remaining 92.95% is earmarked for salaries, benefits of school personnel, and a range of major initiatives aimed at enhancing educational resources, infrastructure, and student welfare.

EDCOM 2’s findings indicate that MOOE budgets are inadequate to meet the operating costs of public elementary and high schools.

The Commission’s Governance and Finance Standing Committee revealed that utility bills alone account for 30-70% of the school MOOE budget.

This left the schools with limited funds available for improvement projects and other necessary initiatives.

The MOOE budget for each school is determined using the Boncodin Formula, which computes fixed costs and variable factors, including enrollment size, number of teachers, number of graduating students, and classroom count. 

The ADB found this formula biased and documented inadequately, complicating efforts for the DepEd to increase the total MOOE budget. 

Hence, the DepEd, in partnership with the ADB, uses a new normative formula, resulting in an increase in the School MOOE allocation.

The DepEd successfully increased the MOOE fund for schools for the Fiscal Year 2025 by 32.1%, equal to ₱49.76 billion, up from ₱37.6 billion last year.

With the impending approval of the FY 2025 national budget, the DepEd receives 12%, amounting to ₱793.2 billion, of the proposed P6.352 trillion budget.

According to the DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019, the MOOE budget shall be used by schools to fund activities prepared in the School Implementation Plan (SIP) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP). 

It shall also finance expenses on graduation, recognition, and moving up rites; minor repairs of facilities; and the procurement of semi-expendable property items under ₱15,000.