BAYAN Muna Party-list Representative Eufemia Cullamat on Thursday, October 15, questioned the P1.5-billion budget for the "last mile schools" program of the Department of Education (DepEd) when several Lumad schools have been shut down.
Negros Oriental Representative Jocelyn Sy-Limkaichong, who sponsored the 2021 DepEd budget in the House of Representatives, said DepEd's policies include the promotion of indigenous peoples' right to education.
She said DepEd initially allocated P6.5 billion for the program, but the budget was cut to P1.5 billion and the P5 billion was realigned to fund the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
She said the P1.5-billion budget will cover only 88 schools, instead of the targeted 361 last mile schools.
Last mile schools refer to those with less than four classrooms, usually makeshift. These have no electricity and no funds for repairs or new construction projects in the last four years.
These are located in far-flung areas, usually a travel distance of more than one hour away from the town center, accessible only through difficult terrain.
These are schools with multi-grade classes, with less than five teachers, and a population of less than 100 learners, more than 75 percent of whom are indigenous peoples.
The budget for the last mile schools program is included in DepEd's proposed P606.5-billion budget for 2021.
Cullamat said DepEd should not have ordered the permanent closure of 55 schools operated by indigenous peoples group Salugpongan Ta'Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center Inc. in 2019.
"Ang layunin ng last mile schools program ay ang mag repair at mag renovate ng mga paaralan sa mga liblib na lugar. Kung ang DepEd ay magtatayo ng pampublikong paaralan [para sa] mga indigenous peoples' areas, bakit kailangang ipasara pa ang mga pribadong paaralan na gumagana na at nakapag serbisyo na sa mga kabataan," she said. (Jove Moya/VoxPop Philippines)