Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is urging passage of Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1841 or the Private Education Voucher Expansion (PEVE) Act to widen financial aid for low- and middle-income students in private schools.
Filed on February 11, 2026, SBN 1841 seeks to create a Private Basic Education Voucher Program covering underprivileged kindergarten to senior high school learners forced to enroll in private schools due to overcrowded or lack of nearby public schools.
Under the measure, voucher aid will go to middle-income families, as defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), whose children come from congested public schools identified by the Department of Education, or live in areas without accessible public schools.
The most vulnerable students will receive higher voucher amounts, to be determined by the Basic Education Assistance Council (BEAC).
The bill aims to institutionalize and unify existing assistance programs into a single voucher-based framework, while also giving institutional support to participating private schools, including teacher development and targeted aid.
It also proposes creating a Bureau of Private Education under DepEd to oversee implementation and ensure compliance.
The measure seeks to repeal portions of Republic Act No. 8545, which amended Republic Act No. 6728 on government assistance to students and teachers in private education.
Criteria will be set to ensure only the most underprivileged students qualify, while participating schools will be evaluated by the BEAC.
“By strengthening public private partnership in basic education, this bill promotes equitable access, more efficient use of public resources, and improved education outcomes,” said Pangilinan.IMT
