The “Sunk Cost Fallacy” is a famous concept in behavioral science and psychology that refers to the tendency to push through with a decision even if giving it up is a better option, largely because too much time, money, or effort has already been invested in it. People relate this phenomenon to "blind hoping" and "rumination," or simply being stuck with the potential of something when it's clearly lost.

It is this potential that the government never fails to mention when they lay out another list of initiatives costing billions of pesos.

For 2026, the government allocated P1.345 trillion to the education sector, described as ‘the largest education budget in the country's history.’ DepEd alone received P1.015 trillion, intended for classrooms, personnel, remedial programs, feeding programs, and other measures designed to address the crisis in the education system.

Fast-forward to now, and we are discussing another P976 billion for the 2027 National Expenditure Program. But more than halfway through the year, can we even feel meaningful improvements brought by the previous trillion-peso allocation?

Similar to the 2026 NEP, various higher education institutions are still dealing with budget cuts, with 49 out of 113 SUCs facing reductions under the 2027 proposal. According to EDCOM II, we are also experiencing a classroom backlog of more than 166,000 rooms. Furthermore, a Senate review of 62 SUCs found that 168,493 qualified students were denied admission because of capacity constraints.

Why does a consistently large budget fail to translate into better results? Was money ever truly the problem? Or is it the government that keeps pouring money into a system without confronting the root cause of its failures?

In public policy, there's a tendency to treat money as though it possesses a natural ability to repair whatever problem it touches. But it does not. The money has to become something measurable: a functional classroom, a properly compensated teacher, accessible learning materials, and many more.

Having the most allocation is not, by itself, proof that a country is doing enough for its education sector.

When we talk about the Philippines, the word "potential" gets thrown around often. We invest so much money, time, and effort into our potential. But then we watch as the results remain disappointing and rarely do we do anything to change it. Instead, we push for another set of initiatives and draw even more empty promises on the chalkboard.

My point is not that we lessen the allocated budget for education, but it's time we address the sunk cost and the fallacies that allow it.

There is more to the youth than just their potential. For once, our investments should give us more than what our system takes away. With genuine intentions and well-designed programs, the P976 billion budget has the capacity to bring us the real, transformative change we have been waiting for.

The Frontman