Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho said the Public School System is preparing to move into the next phase of its austerity measures — the furlough of employees — if the funding gap is not resolved.
The $7 million shortfall comes as the revised budget submitted by Governor David M. Apatang remains pending in the legislature, and PSS’s request for further authorization of its own $4.9 million lapse/unrestricted funds faces delays.
“Furlough is coming. We are prepared for it if the budget does not bring us to $40 million,” Dr. Camacho told Variety.
PSS has already implemented austerity measures effective Nov. 17, including no-Monday school for all levels and a 64-hour workweek for nearly 1,500 employees, based on the $31.7 million FY 2026 budget law.
However, the current $31.7 million budget will not be enough to carry the largest government service provider through the end of the first quarter of 2026. PSS is therefore hoping the Senate acts on the governor’s revised budget — $37.1 million, including the share of MPLT money — as well as the $4.9 million lapse funds.
“This is despite PSS being assured that we were going to get the authorization of this supposed additional funding after we were assured accordingly. It would have gotten us to the workable figure of $40 million combined with the governor’s revised budget proposal,” Dr. Camacho said.
The revised budget remains pending in the Senate. Meanwhile, authorization for PSS to access its $4.9 million lapse funds, initially approved through Rep. BJ Attao’s House Bill, recently encountered a setback. The lapse funds were subdivided, reducing PSS’s available portion to $2.9 million.
He added: “This was also the reason why I delayed the implementation of PSS’s austerity measures from Nov. 1 to Nov. 17 — because I felt there was a breakthrough, a momentum in our dialogue with members of the legislature. That’s why we initially delayed our own austerity, to give all parties more time — and this despite the fact that we have our lapse funds which helped us delay the austerity.”
Lapse or unrestricted funds, according to PSS, are part of its constitutionally guaranteed 25 percent share of revenues from prior fiscal years. Due to disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, delays or shortages in local fund transfers were supplemented by federal emergency funds, which allowed operations to continue without layoffs, ensured school operations remained uninterrupted, and stabilized the budget.
“We really don’t want to furlough anyone; this is not by choice,” Dr. Camacho said. “These circumstances push us to consider the next phase — furloughs. If we do not reach at least the workable $40 million by the end of December, we cannot continue operating at $31.7 million. More difficult decisions will be necessary.”
Dr. Camacho appealed to stakeholders to help minimize the impact of the budget shortfall. “We are working with all partners to address this, but some delays are beyond our control. We had been
assured of additional funding to reach the $40 million mark, which would allow us to avoid furloughs,” he explained.
The education commissioner noted that the implementation of PSS austerity measures was delayed from Nov. 1 to Nov. 17 to give the legislature and other stakeholders more time to act. “This delay was possible because of our lapse funds, which temporarily allowed us to continue operations while we sought a solution,” Dr. Camacho added.
