Angara boosts school funding to strengthen classroom resources

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

 

MAKATI CITY, 13 April 2026—Education Secretary Sonny Angara has announced a substantial increase in the public school Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) to help manage rising operational costs and enhance the quality of campus operations.

Angara said that under the 2026 budget, the Department of Education (DepEd) is prioritizing the direct delivery of funds to the grassroots level. Per learner MOOE spending for elementary public schools has climbed to PhP2,792—a significant increase from PhP2,140 in 2025 and PhP1,389 in 2024. 

Junior High Schools saw their 2026 MOOE allocation per learner rise to PhP2,631, up from P2,201 in 2025 and PhP1,844 in 2024. 

Meanwhile, Senior High School funding jumped to PhP3,264 per learner, compared to PhP2,784 in 2025 and PhP2,306 in 2024.

“Ang malaking dagdag-pondo na ito ay malinaw na mensahe ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na prayoridad natin ang kapakanan ng ating mga paaralan at ang pagbibigay ng sapat na resources para sa ating mga mag-aaral,” Secretary Angara said. 

“Sa pagbuhos natin ng pondo diretso sa ating mga eskwelahan, tinitiyak natin na may sapat na kagamitan at suporta ang ating mga guro at mag-aaral para magtagumpay at makamit ang kanilang buong potensyal.”

The fiscal momentum will continue in 2027, with proposed per learner allocations reaching PhP2,982 for elementary schools, PhP2,744 for Junior High Schools, and PhP3,558 for Senior High Schools.

This funding shift officially ends the old, rigid formula which used fixed amounts based on factors like the number of students, teachers, classrooms and graduates. It is more detailed but also more complicated to compute.

In its place, DepEd is fully implementing the Simplified Normative Funding Formula (SNFF), which mainly uses enrollment and basic school data to give the minimum budget a school needs to meet minimum service standards. 

It is more practical and aims to make funding fairer and faster to distribute. Instead of focusing on per capita costs, the normative approach identifies the essential resources and services every school needs to function effectively. 

DepEd said the increased allocation alongside the adoption of the SNFF is a long-term commitment to keeping learning spaces safe, functional, and well-equipped across the country.

“Isa Ka Higayon” triumphs at SineDisipulo, competes at Sinag Maynila

Wazzup Pilipinas?!

 

Chelsea Tasic’s “Isa Ka Higayon” (One Time) brought home top honors in two major categories of SineDisipulo XIV recently organized by the University of San Carlos’ CINEMATA in Cebu.

Tasic was awarded Best Director while Jabez Tondo got the Best Editing prize in the 14th edition of the film festival, which showcased 20 narrative and documentary shorts from student filmmakers across Visayas and Mindanao, under the theme “Railways through the Regions.”

The double win at SineDisipulo serves as a powerful validation of regional storytelling, showcasing that high-caliber production and compelling narratives are flourishing outside the traditional capital-centric hubs.

SineDisipulo recognized Tasic’s cohesive vision and her ability to guide the narrative atmosphere with a distinct cinematic voice and Tondo’s editing which is a testament to the film’s rhythm and structure, highlighting how the assembly of shots maximized the story’s emotional stakes.

The momentum from these victories carried the film further into the national festival circuit when it competed in the student category of the 8th Sinag Maynila Film Festival, cementing Tasic’s reputation for technical precision and emotional depth.

Being selected for Sinag Maynila is a milestone for Tasic as an emerging filmmaker, as it allowed her film to engage with a wider audience and industry professionals. The festival is known for championing “independent cinema with a social conscience,” a description that aligns perfectly with the sincere and visceral nature of Tasic’s storytelling.

The success of “Isa Ka Higayon” is more than just a personal win for Tasic and her crew. By capturing the complexities of the human experience through a regional lens, the film contributes to a richer, more diverse Philippine cinema.

Tasic is a senior nursing student at University of St. La Salle in Bacolod. She is also a filmmaker whose work has been recognized at the Bacolod Film Festival in 2024 and Sine Negrense: The Negros Island Film Festival for the past three years.

“Isa Ka Higayon,” which was produced by the La Salle Film Society, also earned nominations for Best Film, Best Screenplay for Ayllyn Mhare Ureta, Best Actor for Albert John Paul Dillomes, Best Actress for Wilma Larrazabal, and Best Production Design for Gwen Deniega.

This year’s SineDisipulo was held at Kyurēto Art Space in partnership with SM J Mall Cebu. The film festival concluded with an awards night at the mall’s Izakaya Terrace.

“Ang Kabug Aton sa Nangabilin” by Herald Christian Guillena and Ma. Katrina Rustia won Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress for Vanessa Fe Feje.

The other awards went to “Asa si Mar-Mar?” by Shaina Rico (Special Jury Prize), “Pagdumdom” by Jessiah Makilan (Best Actor), “Young Heart” by Janine Icamen and Angela Legaspi (Best Production Design), “Di Lalim Di Lalum” by Nicole Reyes (Best Cinematography), and “Ang Boble Savage, Nagpahungaw sa iyang Emotional Baggage” by Mico Lorenzo Minerva.

The Harvest of Shadows: Can Asia’s Food Systems Weather the Middle East Storm?

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

The global dining table is trembling. As conflict escalates in the Middle East, a tremor of uncertainty is radiating outward, threatening to upend the three pillars that hold up food security for billions in Asia and the Pacific: food, energy, and fertilizer.

In a region already home to more than half of the world’s undernourished population, the stakes could not be higher. What happens in the corridors of the Middle East does not stay there; it flows through shipping lanes, surges through gas pipelines, and eventually determines the price of a bowl of rice in Manila or a wheat harvest in Punjab.

The Triple Threat: A Critical Transmission

The crisis is not just about geography; it is about the fragile mechanics of global trade. The Middle East serves as a vital producer and transit hub for nitrogen-based fertilizers and petrochemicals. When these hubs are disrupted, the "fertilizer shock" travels fast.

Farmers across Asia now face a " Sophie’s Choice" of agriculture:

The Yield Risk: Reduce fertilizer use to save money, inevitably leading to lower crop yields and less food on the market.

The Profitability Trap: Absorb the skyrocketing input costs, eroding rural incomes and pushing farming families deeper into poverty.

This volatility is further compounded by rising insurance costs and shipping bottlenecks that place immense upward pressure on food prices, hitting low-income, food-importing nations the hardest.

Beyond the Horizon: Long-Term Vulnerabilities

This isn't happening in a vacuum. The conflict acts as a "threat multiplier," colliding with climate change—which is already draining water tables and intensifying natural disasters across the Pacific—and fiscal constraints that leave governments with little room to provide subsidies or social safety nets.

While some nations might be tempted to turn inward with export restrictions or stockpiling, experts warn these are "band-aid" solutions. Such moves may offer a fleeting moment of relief but often end up fueling global market chaos and undermining long-term resilience.

The Blueprint for Resilience: ADB’s Strategic Call

On April 13, 2026, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will convene a high-level webinar, "Food Systems Insights," to address these tectonic shifts. Led by experts like Albert Park (ADB Chief Economist) and Johan Swinnen (Director General of IFPRI), the forum aims to move the conversation from "reactive crisis management" to "proactive transformation".

The actionable pathways for the future include:

Climate-Smart Investments: Transitioning to nature-based solutions and climate-resilient crops.

Efficiency & Innovation: Improving nutrient-use efficiency to reduce dependence on volatile global fertilizer markets.

Regional Solidarity: Strengthening trade cooperation to ensure food flows freely even when geopolitical tensions rise.

Innovative Finance: Scaling up funding mechanisms to support smallholder farmers and agri-food SMEs who are on the front lines.

A Global Collaboration

The panel features a "Who's Who" of global food security leaders, including representatives from the FAO, World Food Programme, and senior government officials from Sri Lanka and Pakistan—countries intimately familiar with the pressures of economic and food shocks.

The message is clear: the current fragility of our food systems is no longer a theoretical concern. To safeguard the future of Asia and the Pacific, the region must transform its food systems to be as resilient as the people who depend on them.