Education is getting a much-needed boost under the P1.4-trillion national budget for the current fiscal year. Originally, the Education Department was given a P156-billion budget in the spending program submitted by Malaca?ang to Congress. When the budget bill went to the Senate, DepEd received an additional P6 billion.

Aside from this, P21.65 billion was earmarked by the administration for 116 state universities and colleges. The amount was raised by P299.1 million under the Senate version of the national budget. The budgets of 89 SUCs were hiked by the Senate but 21 others suffered a budget cut.  The funding of six others was left untouched.

The significant hike in the appropriations of the DepEd and most of the SUCs reflects the pro-education bias of the senators.  But if there was somebody who was very instrumental in making this possible, it was Senator Edgardo Angara, who assumed the chairmanship of the finance committee as the Senate began floor deliberations on the budget bill.  Angara and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, whom he succeeded as finance committee chairman, have identified four sectors education and training, health, environment and infrastructure?that should be infused with additional resources to better equip the country to cope with the impact of the global economic storm.

With a whopping budget of P6.76 billion, the University of the Philippines System has the biggest allocation among the SUCs.  The House of Representatives approved a budget of P6.4 billion for the UP System, and the Senate increased it by P361.2 million. The hefty budget hike is in keeping with the newly approved UP Charter which strengthened the fiscal autonomy of the premier state university, according to Angara, former UP president and chairman of the education committee.

Other SUCs which received generous increase under the Senate version were the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, up by P19 million to P654.4 million, Philippine Normal University, up by P15 million to P282.4 million. Central Luzon State University, up by P15 million to P258.7 million and Western Philippine University, up by P11 million to P100.1 million and Mindanao Polytechnic State University, up by P8 million to P101 million. The budgets of most SUCs were augmented by amounts ranging from P1 million to P5 million.

If you add the P162.3 billion budget of the DepEd and the P22 billion funding for the SUCs, you will get a clearer picture of how Malaca?ang and Congress are trying to adhere to the constitutional mandate to give the highest budgetary authority to education. As in previous years, DepEd has the biggest allocation among the line departments this year

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To usher in the yearly observance of the National Arts Month in February, a colorful program dubbed ?Ani ng Sining? (Harvest of the Arts) was held at the Clam Shell 2 in Intramuros, Manila yesterday under the auspices of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts in cooperation with the Tourism Department, Philippine Tourism Authority and Education Department.

The event was highlighted by the presentation of the National Arts Month jingle composed by Joey Ayala. The crowd was treated to dance and song numbers and other cultural performances. It marked the opening salvo for the 18 days of countdown to the 18th National Arts Month celebration.

Also to kick off this month is the quadricentennial anniversary of the founding of the town of Baler, province of Aurora. hometown of two of the country?s most illustrious leaders, President Manuel Luis-Quezon and Ed Angara. It was Angara, the longest-serving senator in the post-Edsa 1 period, who had requested President Arroyo to issue a proclamation for the national celebration of the 400th year of the birth of Baler.  In Proclamation 1696, issued Dec. 24, 2008, President Arroyo directed the NCCA executive director Cecile Guidote Alvarez to spearhead the holding of commemorative activities which will culminate on June 30, the actual foundation date of Baler.

Located at the easternmost part of Luzon and facing the Pacific Ocean, Baler was established during the Spanish colonial era by a group of Franciscan missionaries led by Fr. Blas Palomino.  Baler became the capital of the Distrito del Principe, carved out of the province of Nueva Ecija in 1856. The presidential proclamation took note of monumental historical events that transpired in Baler during the dying days of Spanish colonialism leading to the country?s independence, It was in this faraway town that Spanish soldiers made the last defense of Spanish authority in the archipelago whose gallantry moved General Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the First Philippine Republic, to issue a decree on June 30, 1899 stating that the defenders of Baler should be treated ?not as prisoners but as friends.?

?It was in Baler where friendship and reconciliation was forged between the Philippines and Spain which provided the basis for the enactment of Republic Act 9187 declaring June 30 of every year as the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day,? Mrs. Arroyo said in her proclamation.

The heroism and courageous deeds of both the Filipino rebels and the Spanish troops who held out within the walls of the church of San Luis de Tolosa during several months of the siege of Baler are immortalized in the blockbuster movie, ?Baler.?  It was Angara who was the moving force and inspiration behind the movie which bagged most of the major awards during the just-concluded Metro Manila Film Festival. Produced by Viva Entertainment and directed by Mar Meily, the period film romped away with the Best Picture, Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural award, Best Director and Best Actress awards.

Noted writer-novelist Joe Laderas Santos, acting chairman of the Commission on National Language, underscored the importance of Proclamation  1696  in promoting the Filipino language, history and cultural heritage.  He pointed out that Baler?s most famous son, the late President Quezon, who led the independence movement during the American Commonwealth Era, championed the cause of propagating our national language.

His Majesty, King Juan Carlos l and Queen Sofia of Spain are expected to go on a state visit to the country in June and grace the Baler Quadricentennial celebration.  They will reciprocate President Arroyo?s state visit to Spain last year.