MANILA — Senator Win Gatchalian said the proposed 2026 budget for education will support efforts to improve learners’ reading proficiency following the release of a regional study showing Filipino students trailing their Southeast Asian peers.

Gatchalian made the assurance after the release of the 2024 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), which found that Grade 5 Filipino learners are behind their counterparts in the region in reading. The study showed that 27 percent of Grade 5 learners in the Philippines have very low reading proficiency.

Under the Bicameral Conference Committee-approved budget, Gatchalian said funding for textbooks and other instructional materials was increased to ₱19.5 billion from ₱11.2 billion in the National Expenditure Program to ensure that learners receive complete sets of textbooks.

The SEA-PLM study also found that in the Philippines, the availability of textbooks is linked to better learning outcomes. However, 52 percent of Grade 5 learners have only one reading textbook, while 42 percent share a reading textbook with at least one other student. Only 13 percent of learners reached the minimum reading proficiency, while just 14 percent attained high reading proficiency.

To support learning recovery, Gatchalian also pushed for an additional ₱3.3 billion to fund 440,000 tutors under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program. The allocation is expected to benefit around 6.7 million learners.