In printing several copies of a children’s book, Vice President Sara Duterte wants to deduct 10 million pesos from the country’s budget, yet the education system isn’t even satisfactory.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) recently released a sneak peek of Vice President Sara Duterte’s proposed children’s book entitled Isang Kaibigan (A Friend), which quickly earned the public’s disagreement and became a laughingstock. She mentioned in a recent hearing that the book’s publication will cost approximately 10 million pesos which will be deducted from the 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP). 

The book consists of 16 pages conveying the story of an owl named Kwago, who was abandoned by all of his friends after a storm destroyed his home and belongings. As he grew in despair, his parrot friend Loro sheltered him and offered to rebuild his nest.

Generally speaking, the book upholds good morals, such as the idea that true friends should never leave each other in times of crisis. If we are talking about the content, this book will serve as a good example for elementary students as it will shape their character early. 

However, I feel that 10 million is overbearing for a book that is only 16 pages long. I’ve seen plenty of children’s book publishing houses that charge less than half a million pesos for publishing the same type of books. In fact, most of these books are authored by public school teachers. 

The cost per copy decreases as the number of books to be printed increases. The quality of the book is certain to be affected by its price range. The educational system in our country requires more than just an ‘educational book’. The 10 million pesos allocated for printing the books could be used instead, for better air circulation at state universities or to provide scholarships to deserving students.

The aforementioned book was included in the OVP’s flagship program entitled “PagbaBAGo Campaign”, where a million students, mostly in rural cities, will receive a bag full of school supplies including the book. 

Vice President Sara Duterte and Senator Risa Hontiveros got into an intense argument soon afterward, with the senator requesting to know more details about the book’s content and the Vice President’s reason for employing public funds for a book she had written. 

“I think, in principle improper, ano ‘yan eh, request ‘yan. Dahil kung meron kang sinulat na libro, kung ikaw ang sumulat niyan, hindi dapat gamitan ng government funds at taxpayers money para ipamudmod,” Senator Hontiveros indicated to support her question. Although the Senator’s question is precise, Vice President Sara accused the Senator of politicizing the hearing, emphasizing the chance that the parents of the book recipients might assume she was running an early campaign or luring them to get their votes.

She could have answered with a brief enumeration of the publication process of the book to explain why the cost reached 10 million pesos, but she didn’t. She is well aware that many will accuse her of early campaigning yet still pushed through with pasting her picture on the first page, expecting the taxpayers to pay for the book that is costly in publication and for her personal attributes, to be published along with it.

I believe that this plan of the OVP can still be modified to be more efficient in terms of cost.