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# For the first time, PH education spending exceeds 4% of GDP—meeting UNESCO’s recommended standard
- URL: https://tsrv2.apphq.dev/nation/for-the-first-time-ph-education-spending-exceeds-4-of-gdp-meeting-unescos-recommended-standard/
- Published: 2026-08-01T07:43:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:45:29.000Z
- Description: The Philippines has exceeded 4% of gross domestic product in education spending for the first time, entering the 4 to 6% range recommended by UNESCO as the best practice for a developing country, Education Undersecretary Edson Byron Sy said Saturday. Sy made the disclosure in an interview on DZRH…
- Author: Liam Demafelix
- Tags: Nation, News, Business, Watch, Department of Education, DepEd, DZRH, Edson Byron Sy, Education budget, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., GDP, SONA 2026, Sonny Angara, special on saturday, The Situation Report

The Philippines has exceeded 4% of gross domestic product in education spending for the first time, entering the 4 to 6% range recommended by UNESCO as the best practice for a developing country, Education Undersecretary Edson Byron Sy said Saturday.

Sy made the disclosure in an interview on DZRH News program *Special on Saturday* on August 1, as part of the DZRH SONA 2026 Series featuring the Department of Education.

The education undersecretary confirmed that the Philippines had crossed the 4% GDP threshold, adding that DepEd’s budget now also accounts for approximately 15% of the national budget—consistent with the constitutional mandate that education receive the highest budget priority.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the Philippines had previously been spending only 2 to 3% of GDP on education, well below the UNESCO-recommended minimum, for many years.

He said the crossing of the 4% threshold is significant not just as a number but as a signal that the government has begun to treat education as a genuine national investment rather than a line item.

Angara said the UNESCO benchmark exists because education spending below 4% of GDP is associated with learning deficits, infrastructure gaps, and teacher attrition—all problems the Philippines has been grappling with for decades.

The DepEd budget of ₱1.012 trillion represents the first time in the department’s history that education spending has exceeded ₱1 trillion, combining the GDP milestone with an absolute budget record in a single fiscal year.

Angara said sustaining the 4% GDP threshold beyond the Marcos administration is critical, citing the Education Commission’s recommendation that reforms must be maintained for at least a decade to take real root in Philippine education.