# Does School MOOE Reach Poor and Last Mile Schools?

Last Mile schools get PHP 4,804 per learner in School MOOE, other schools PHP 2,566. Size explains the whole gap: like schools get the same amount anywhere.

This is the Markdown copy of [Does School MOOE Reach Poor and Last Mile Schools?](https://nash.com.ph/blog/school-mooe-poverty-last-mile-schools), an article on the NASH Reviewer Blog by Mark Anthony Llego, published Nov 12, 2026, updated Nov 12, 2026. Topics: DepEd data. NASH Reviewer is an independent practice platform not affiliated with DepEd, BHROD, or NEAP.

Yes. Schools in needier places receive more School Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) per learner. In fiscal year (FY) 2026 the Department of Education's (DepEd) Last Mile schools receive PHP 4,804 per learner and other schools PHP 2,566. Rural schools receive PHP 3,544 and urban schools PHP 2,026. Schools in the poorest cities and municipalities, which hold a fifth of learners, receive PHP 3,367, and those in the least poor fifth PHP 2,042.

The extra amount does not depend on need. It is what schools of that size receive anywhere. A Last Mile school and another school with the same curricular offering and the same enrollment receive the same amount, to within a tenth of 1%. Needier places get more because their schools are small, and the formula gives every school a fixed amount before it counts learners.

That leaves two groups the formula does not see. One is the large school in a poor city or municipality: three in ten learners in the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities are in schools of more than 1,000 learners, at PHP 2,159 per learner. The other is the small school in a place that is not poor, which receives as much as a small school in the poorest one. The figures come from DepEd's [School MOOE allocation lists](https://nash.com.ph/blog/school-mooe-allocation-fy-2020-2026) for FY 2020 to FY 2026, DepEd's list of Last Mile schools, and the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) poverty estimates for cities and municipalities.

## Key findings

- **Last Mile schools receive 87% more per learner than other schools.** They hold 7.1% of learners and receive 12.4% of the money in FY 2026, up from 9.3% in FY 2020 (DepEd, School MOOE Allocation lists; DepEd, Last Mile Schools, SY 2024-2025; DepEd enrollment data).
- **School size accounts for the whole difference.** If every school received what schools of its offering and enrollment receive on the whole list, Last Mile schools would get 87.5% more than other schools. They get 87.2% more. Between like schools the difference is 0.0% (the same sources).
- **The same holds for the other three measures of need.** Between like schools, a rural school receives 0.6% more than an urban one, a school in a 5th class city or municipality 1.4% more than one in a 1st class, and a school in the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities 0.2% more than one in the least poor fifth. Among purely elementary schools every one of these differences is zero (allocation lists; EDCOM II classroom data; PSA, city and municipal poverty estimates, 2023).
- **Three in ten learners in the poorest places are in large schools.** In the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities, 1.28 million learners, 29.7%, attend schools of more than 1,000 learners, which receive PHP 2,159 per learner. Half of the learners in those places (50.5%) are in schools below the PHP 2,724 that all schools together receive per learner (DepEd, School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026, and enrollment data; PSA, city and municipal poverty estimates, 2023).
- **A small school in a low-poverty place receives more than a large school in a poor one.** Schools of 200 learners or fewer in the least poor fifth of cities and municipalities receive PHP 6,413 per learner, about three times as much (the same sources).
- **One list did favor lower income places: FY 2024.** It raised each school's FY 2023 amount by a rate set for its city or municipality, from about 3% to about 49%, and the rates were highest where the income class is lowest. Like schools in the highest-rate places received 34.7% more than those in the lowest. In FY 2026 they receive 1.7% more (DepEd, School MOOE Allocation lists, FY 2023 to FY 2026).
- **The law now asks for a formula for these schools.** Republic Act No. 12321 directs DepEd to formulate programs for Last Mile and GIDA schools that include a "Formula for school maintenance and other operating expenses, in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management" (Sec. 9(b)).

## Four ways to measure need

No single list marks which public schools serve the neediest learners. Four measures are available for nearly every school on the FY 2026 list.

| Measure | What it says about a school | Source | Schools covered |
|---|---|---|---:|
| Last Mile school | The school is on DepEd's list of Last Mile schools | DepEd, *Last Mile Schools in Public Elementary and Junior High School*, SY 2024-2025 | all 45,313 |
| Income class | The income class of the school's city or municipality, 1st (highest income) to 5th, as classified since January 1, 2025 | EDCOM II's classroom data | 44,985 (99.3%) |
| Rural or urban | The school is labeled rural or urban | DepEd's 2023 classroom shortage table, in EDCOM II's classroom data | 44,892 (99.1%) |
| Poverty incidence | The share of the population below the poverty line in the school's city or municipality | PSA, 2023 | 45,299 (all but 14) |

DepEd identified Last Mile schools by indicators it set in 2019, among them "Having less than four classrooms", "Absence of electricity", "With travel distance of more than one hour from town center, or with difficulty of terrain", "Having multigrade classes/rooms", "With less than five teachers" and "Having a student population of less than 100 learners" ([DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2019](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2019/05/22/may-22-2019-dm-059-s-2019-prioritizing-the-development-of-the-last-mile-schools-in-2020-2021-reaching-out-and-closing-the-gap/), para. 2). The list for SY 2024-2025 has 9,127 school IDs, and 9,040 of them are on the FY 2026 allocation list with enrollment data: one school in five. Republic Act No. 12321 now requires DepEd to "promulgate guidelines, based on evidence and measurable criteria, for the identification of schools and areas to be covered by the Program" (Sec. 4) and to "Publish annually a list of Last Mile and GIDA Schools, which shall serve as the basis for the allocation of national funds" (Sec. 14(b)).

The income classes are the five that [Republic Act No. 11964](https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2023/ra_11964_2023.html) sets for cities and municipalities (Sec. 4), in force since January 1, 2025 under the Department of Finance's Department Order No. 074-2024. The lists of FY 2020 to FY 2024 were drawn up before that classification.

Two limits apply to all four measures. Each is fixed in time, so a change across the years below is a change in the allocations and not in the measure. And each describes a place or a school, not its learners. A school in a poor municipality does not necessarily serve poor learners, and a school in a 1st class city can serve its poorest barangay.

The poverty measure is the rate of the school's own city or municipality. The schools with a rate are in 1,513 cities and municipalities. For 1,479 it is PSA's 2023 city and municipal level estimate, a small area estimate that combines the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey with the 2020 Census of Population and Housing and other data in a model (PSA, press release of February 6, 2026). For the other 34, which are the highly urbanized cities, the City of Isabela and Pateros, it is the rate in PSA's official poverty statistics, estimated directly from the survey.

The rates run from 0.1% in the City of Muntinlupa to 67.8% in Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte. Sorting learners by their place's rate and cutting them into fifths gives a poorest fifth of 430 cities and municipalities with rates of 26.0% and above, and a least poor fifth of 150 at 6.8% and below. Each fifth is a fifth of learners, not of places. The estimates differ in precision. PSA says small area estimates with a coefficient of variation above 20% "should be used with caution", and it marks its official city estimates in the same way above 10%. By those marks 21.8% of learners are in a place whose rate calls for caution: 3.0% in 129 places with a small area estimate, and 18.8% in the 34 cities estimated directly, all of which carry the mark. The low rates are the least precise: 59.3% of the least poor fifth's learners are in a place whose estimate has a coefficient of variation above 20%.

## How much more schools in needier places receive

The amount per learner is the group's allocation divided by its learners in SY 2024-2025, the enrollment the FY 2026 list follows.

| Group | Schools | Learners | Median enrollment | Schools with 200 learners or fewer | Share of learners | Share of School MOOE | Per learner |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Last Mile schools | 9,040 | 1,524,206 | 96 | 77.5% | 7.1% | 12.4% | PHP 4,804 |
| Other schools | 36,273 | 20,085,316 | 268 | 37.8% | 92.9% | 87.6% | PHP 2,566 |
| Rural | 34,345 | 9,833,167 | 181 | 54.8% | 45.9% | 59.7% | PHP 3,544 |
| Urban | 10,547 | 11,600,801 | 670 | 15.7% | 54.1% | 40.3% | PHP 2,026 |
| 5th class city or municipality | 611 | 116,853 | 110 | 73.2% | 0.5% | 0.9% | PHP 4,712 |
| 4th class | 3,630 | 948,594 | 144 | 63.6% | 4.4% | 6.2% | PHP 3,827 |
| 3rd class | 5,650 | 1,809,214 | 170 | 57.0% | 8.4% | 10.5% | PHP 3,394 |
| 2nd class | 6,698 | 2,376,995 | 194 | 51.3% | 11.0% | 13.0% | PHP 3,195 |
| 1st class | 28,396 | 16,274,666 | 266 | 39.1% | 75.6% | 69.4% | PHP 2,496 |
| Poorest fifth of cities and municipalities | 13,734 | 4,319,205 | 181 | 54.4% | 20.0% | 24.7% | PHP 3,367 |
| Second fifth | 11,421 | 4,316,872 | 211 | 47.9% | 20.0% | 22.6% | PHP 3,084 |
| Middle fifth | 8,604 | 4,341,139 | 247 | 41.7% | 20.1% | 19.5% | PHP 2,648 |
| Fourth fifth | 7,267 | 4,298,455 | 268 | 39.1% | 19.9% | 18.1% | PHP 2,480 |
| Least poor fifth | 4,273 | 4,322,178 | 427 | 31.7% | 20.0% | 15.0% | PHP 2,042 |

![Four panels of horizontal bars of School MOOE per learner in FY 2026. Last Mile schools receive 4,804 pesos per learner and other schools 2,566. Rural schools receive 3,544 and urban schools 2,026. By income class of the city or municipality the amount falls from 4,712 in the 5th class to 3,827, 3,394, 3,195 and 2,496 in the 1st class. By the poverty incidence of the city or municipality it falls from 3,367 in the poorest fifth to 3,084, 2,648, 2,480 and 2,042 in the least poor fifth.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/mooe-per-learner-by-need.Bvz9Q_Zu_Z1jxF9A.webp)

*Figure 1. School MOOE per learner in FY 2026 by Last Mile status, rural or urban location, and the income class and poverty incidence of the city or municipality. Data: DepEd School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026, and enrollment data, SY 2024-2025; DepEd, Last Mile Schools, SY 2024-2025; EDCOM II classroom data (income class and rural or urban label); PSA, city and municipal poverty estimates, 2023. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-per-learner-by-need.png) or [its data (CSV)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-per-learner-by-need.csv).*

Every measure points the same way. In each pair, the group with more small schools has the larger share of the money and the higher amount per learner. Most Last Mile schools are small. Fewer than 100 learners is one of DepEd's nine indicators, and 51.6% of the schools on the list have fewer than 100. Their median enrollment is 96, and 22.5% have more than 200 learners.

## Where the extra amount comes from

The test is to pay every school only for its size. Give each school what schools of its curricular offering and enrollment receive across the whole FY 2026 list, and add the groups up again.

| Comparison | Per learner, needier group | Per learner, other group | More per learner | More per learner if every school were paid for its size and offering alone |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Last Mile schools against other schools | PHP 4,804 | PHP 2,566 | +87.2% | +87.5% |
| Rural schools against urban schools | PHP 3,544 | PHP 2,026 | +74.9% | +73.5% |
| 5th class cities and municipalities against 1st class | PHP 4,712 | PHP 2,496 | +88.8% | +84.0% |
| Poorest fifth of cities and municipalities against the least poor fifth | PHP 3,367 | PHP 2,042 | +64.9% | +63.7% |

![Paired horizontal bars for four comparisons in FY 2026: how much more School MOOE per learner needier schools receive, and how much more their size and curricular offering alone would give them. Last Mile schools against other schools: +87.2 percent received, +87.5 percent expected from size and offering. Rural schools against urban schools: +74.9 percent received, +73.5 percent expected from size and offering. 5th class cities and municipalities against 1st class: +88.8 percent received, +84.0 percent expected from size and offering. Poorest fifth of cities and municipalities against the least poor fifth: +64.9 percent received, +63.7 percent expected from size and offering.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/mooe-need-gap-actual-expected.B8pzeujd_SYKS.webp)

*Figure 2. How much more per learner schools in needier places receive in FY 2026, and how much more their size and curricular offering alone would give them. Data: DepEd School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026, and enrollment data; DepEd, Last Mile Schools, SY 2024-2025; EDCOM II classroom data (income class and rural or urban label); PSA, city and municipal poverty estimates, 2023. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-need-gap-actual-expected.png) or [its data (CSV)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-need-gap-actual-expected.csv).*

Size and offering reproduce each gap almost exactly. Comparing like schools directly gives the same answer.

| Between two schools of the same offering and enrollment | Difference in the amount per learner | 95% interval |
|---|---:|---:|
| A Last Mile school, against another school | 0.0% | -0.1% to +0.1% |
| A rural school, against an urban one | +0.6% | +0.4% to +0.7% |
| A school in a 5th class city or municipality, against a 1st class | +1.4% | +1.1% to +1.7% |
| A school in the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities, against the least poor fifth | +0.2% | 0.0% to +0.4% |
| For each 10 percentage points of poverty in the city or municipality | +0.09% | +0.05% to +0.12% |

![Two falling lines of the median School MOOE per learner against enrollment for purely elementary schools in FY 2026, on logarithmic scales: one for Last Mile schools and one for other schools. The two lines lie on top of each other. In the 21 enrollment bands that hold at least 20 schools of each kind, the Last Mile median is between 0.998 and 1.034 times the other schools' median.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/mooe-size-curve-last-mile.BHDkstPY_Z1tqLWX.webp)

*Figure 3. School MOOE per learner by school size in FY 2026, Last Mile and other purely elementary schools (median school in each enrollment band; both scales are logarithmic). Data: DepEd School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026, and enrollment data; DepEd, Last Mile Schools, SY 2024-2025. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-size-curve-last-mile.png) or [its data (CSV)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-size-curve-last-mile.csv).*

Among purely elementary schools every difference in the table is zero: 99.9% of them receive exactly the equation's amount for their enrollment. The small differences come from schools with a secondary level, where a school in a 5th class city or municipality receives 6.7% more than a like school in a 1st class one, and a rural school 1.8% more than an urban one. The FY 2026 list keeps each level at no less than its FY 2025 amount plus 3%, so amounts that earlier lists raised have not all come down to the equation.

Figure 3 shows the two groups of elementary schools on one curve. This is the normative formula working as designed: a fixed amount for the school's offering and an amount for each learner, with nothing for where the school is. [New MOOE Normative Formula: How to Compute School MOOE](https://nash.com.ph/blog/school-mooe-normative-formula) gives the equations.

## The learners the formula does not see

A formula that pays for smallness reaches need only where need and smallness go together. They often do not.

| Group | Learners | In schools of more than 1,000 learners | Per learner in those large schools | In schools below PHP 2,724 per learner |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Poorest fifth of cities and municipalities | 4,319,205 | 1,283,475 (29.7%) | PHP 2,159 | 2,179,969 (50.5%) |
| 4th and 5th class cities and municipalities | 1,065,447 | 257,536 (24.2%) | PHP 2,384 | 390,968 (36.7%) |
| Rural schools | 9,833,167 | 2,229,994 (22.7%) | PHP 2,191 | 4,248,827 (43.2%) |
| Last Mile schools | 1,524,206 | 231,862 (15.2%) | PHP 1,887 | 514,311 (33.7%) |

PHP 2,724 is what all schools together receive per learner. Half of the learners in the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities are in schools below it. The 737 large schools in those places hold 1.28 million learners at PHP 2,159 each. One Last Mile learner in three is also in a school below PHP 2,724.

A city's or municipality's poverty rate does not say which of its barangays are poor. Half of these large schools (49.9%) are labeled urban, against 13.5% of all schools in the same places. The figures show that the formula adds nothing for a poor place's large schools. They do not show how poor those schools' own learners are.

The reverse case is easy to find. The 1,356 schools of 200 learners or fewer in the least poor fifth of cities and municipalities receive PHP 6,413 per learner, about three times what a large school in the poorest fifth receives.

The best-funded fifth of learners, those in schools with PHP 3,315 per learner or more, shows how loosely the money follows poverty. Their cities and municipalities have an average poverty rate of 21.2%, against 15.9% for all learners. A third of them (33.4%) are in the poorest fifth and one in fifteen (6.6%) in the least poor fifth. Only 19.2% are in Last Mile schools.

## Poverty and School MOOE by city and municipality

Across the 1,513 cities and municipalities with a poverty estimate, the amount per learner rises with the poverty rate, but loosely: a correlation of 0.51 when places are weighted by their learners, and 0.11 when each place counts once. It follows the share of small schools far more closely: 0.90 and 0.79.

![Scatter of 1,513 cities and municipalities: poverty incidence among population in 2023 against School MOOE per learner in FY 2026, with circles sized by learners and shaded by the share of schools with 200 learners or fewer. The cloud is wide at every poverty rate: the amount per learner rises only loosely with poverty (a correlation of 0.51, weighted by learners) and closely with the share of small schools (0.90). The poorest is Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte (67.8 percent, 3,592 pesos per learner). Large pale circles at the lower left are big cities with low poverty and low amounts per learner.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/mooe-poverty-areas.BzDw4JgR_dcRmL.webp)

*Figure 4. Poverty incidence in 2023 and School MOOE per learner in FY 2026, by city and municipality. Larger circles have more learners; the shade follows the share of schools with 200 learners or fewer. The six places above PHP 11,420 per learner are drawn at the top edge. Data: DepEd School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026, and enrollment data; PSA, city and municipal poverty estimates, 2023. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-poverty-areas.png) or [its data (CSV)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-poverty-areas.csv).*

Places sit off the general line in both directions.

- **Low poverty, high amounts.** Seventeen cities and municipalities with a poverty rate under 5% receive more than one and a half times PHP 2,724 per learner. Ivana, Batanes (poverty 2.7%) receives PHP 7,454, Vintar, Ilocos Norte (4.5%) PHP 6,114, Lagawe, Ifugao (3.4%) PHP 5,351, Pinili, Ilocos Norte (4.6%) PHP 5,319 and Caoayan, Ilocos Sur (4.4%) PHP 5,187. Their median schools have between 65 and 190 learners.
- **High poverty, amounts below PHP 2,724.** In 77 cities and municipalities the poverty rate is 40% or more. Three of them receive less than PHP 2,724 per learner: Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental (41.7%, PHP 2,548), Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental (41.3%, PHP 2,577) and Talakag, Bukidnon (40.5%, PHP 2,683). Their median schools have between 300 and 376 learners.

The poorest municipality, Siayan in Zamboanga del Norte (67.8%), receives PHP 3,592 per learner, less than half of what Ivana receives. The second poorest, Tineg in Abra (66.3%), receives PHP 11,160, and its median school has 42 learners.

Most places stand above PHP 2,724 whatever their poverty rate, because the large schools of a few big cities pull that figure down. Of the 346 cities and municipalities with a poverty rate under 10%, 206 receive more than PHP 2,724 per learner. Of the 284 with a rate of 30% or more, 266 do.

About a third of the gap between the poorest and least poor fifths reflects the National Capital Region, whose schools are very large. It holds 46.7% of the least poor fifth's learners. Without its schools, the poorest fifth receives 42.4% more per learner than the least poor fifth, against 64.9% with them. Counting each school once, the difference is 49.4% with the region and 30.5% without it.

## FY 2024: a raise that favored lower income places

One list before the normative formula treated places differently, and by design. The FY 2024 list was built on the FY 2023 list: each school's amount is its FY 2023 amount raised by a rate, with a minimum of PHP 282,000. The rate is the same for the schools of a city or municipality, and it takes six values.

| Rate of the FY 2024 raise | Cities and municipalities | Purely elementary schools | Now 1st class | Now 2nd class | Now 3rd class | Now 4th class | Now 5th class |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| About 3% | 379 | 12,556 | 373 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| About 11% | 183 | 4,887 | 180 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| About 19.5% | 283 | 6,784 | 144 | 128 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| About 29% | 384 | 6,865 | 38 | 99 | 193 | 54 | 0 |
| About 39% | 260 | 3,224 | 14 | 6 | 31 | 166 | 43 |
| About 49% | 24 | 206 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 17 |

The larger of the FY 2023 amount times the place's rate and PHP 282,000 gives the FY 2024 amount to within 1% for 85.6% of purely elementary schools, and to within 3% for 95.8%. The rates rise as income class falls. Of the 379 cities and municipalities raised by 3%, 373 are 1st class today. All 24 raised by 49% are 3rd to 5th class. The income classes shown are today's, which postdate the list, so they sort the rates only roughly.

| Purely elementary schools, median allocation | Raised 3% | Raised 11% | Raised 19.5% | Raised 29% | Raised 39% | Raised 49% |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 95 to 105 learners, FY 2023 | PHP 238,000 | PHP 238,500 | PHP 239,000 | PHP 239,000 | PHP 241,000 | PHP 230,000 |
| 95 to 105 learners, FY 2024 | PHP 282,000 | PHP 282,000 | PHP 290,000 | PHP 309,000 | PHP 338,000 | PHP 351,000 |
| 95 to 105 learners, FY 2025 | PHP 553,000 | PHP 553,000 | PHP 554,000 | PHP 553,000 | PHP 553,000 | PHP 552,500 |
| 280 to 320 learners, FY 2023 | PHP 368,000 | PHP 374,000 | PHP 376,000 | PHP 380,000 | PHP 382,000 | PHP 382,000 |
| 280 to 320 learners, FY 2024 | PHP 380,000 | PHP 417,000 | PHP 450,000 | PHP 491,000 | PHP 542,000 | PHP 562,000 |
| 280 to 320 learners, FY 2025 | PHP 715,000 | PHP 716,000 | PHP 714,000 | PHP 714,000 | PHP 714,000 | PHP 711,000 |

An elementary school of about 300 learners received PHP 562,000 in FY 2024 where the rate was 49% and PHP 380,000 where it was 3%. A year earlier the two received PHP 382,000 and PHP 368,000, and a year later PHP 711,000 and PHP 715,000. For schools of about 100 learners the minimum hid part of the raise: PHP 282,000 is the list's floor, and schools raised by 3% and by 11% both stand on it. The 49% column rests on few schools, 14 and 7.

| Fiscal year | Raised 11% | Raised 19.5% | Raised 29% | Raised 39% | Raised 49% |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| FY 2020 | +0.5% | +1.4% | +2.2% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| FY 2021 | +0.7% | +1.6% | +2.3% | +2.7% | +2.7% |
| FY 2022 | +0.3% | +1.2% | +1.9% | +2.1% | +1.7% |
| FY 2023 | +0.6% | +1.5% | +2.2% | +2.5% | +2.1% |
| FY 2024 | +6.2% | +13.3% | +20.2% | +26.8% | +34.7% |
| FY 2025 | +0.8% | +1.6% | +2.3% | +3.1% | +4.8% |
| FY 2026 | +0.2% | +0.5% | +0.7% | +1.1% | +1.7% |

The table gives how much more per learner a school received than a like school in a city or municipality raised by 3%.

![Line chart, FY 2020 to FY 2026, of how much more per learner a school received than a like school in a city or municipality whose amounts the FY 2024 list raised by 3 percent, for five groups raised by about 11, 19.5, 29, 39 and 49 percent. In FY 2023 the five groups are within 2.5 percent of the 3 percent group. In FY 2024 they stand at +6.2, +13.3, +20.2, +26.8, +34.7 percent. In FY 2026 they stand at +0.2, +0.5, +0.7, +1.1, +1.7 percent.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/mooe-fy2024-rate-groups.e4tDUv-u_Z18kk74.webp)

*Figure 5. How much more per learner a school received than a like school in a city or municipality whose amounts the FY 2024 list raised by 3%, for the five groups raised by more, FY 2020 to FY 2026. Data: DepEd School MOOE Allocation lists, FY 2020 to FY 2026, and enrollment data. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-fy2024-rate-groups.png) or [its data (CSV)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/mooe-fy2024-rate-groups.csv).*

The raise explains part of why schools of the same size received such different amounts in FY 2024: it accounts for 44.6% of the differences that size and offering leave that year. By today's income classes, a school in a 5th class city or municipality received 23.6% more than a like school in a 1st class one in FY 2024, against 5.0% the year before.

The lists do not say what set the rates. [DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2019/05/02/may-2-2019-do-008-s-2019-revised-implementing-guidelines-on-the-direct-release-use-monitoring-and-reporting-of-maintenance-and-other-operating-expenses-allocation-of-schools-including-other-fu/), the order on school MOOE in force then and now, names no such factor. The normative formula of FY 2025 ended the difference: a place's FY 2024 rate now leaves at most 1.7%.

## Before and after the normative formula

The measures of need are fixed, so the same schools can be followed through all seven lists.

| Fiscal year | Last Mile schools' share of School MOOE | Poorest fifth of cities and municipalities' share | Per learner, poorest fifth over least poor fifth | A Last Mile school against a like school | A school in the poorest fifth against a like school in the least poor fifth |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| FY 2020 | 9.3% | 22.4% | 1.32 | -3.7% | -3.4% |
| FY 2021 | 9.3% | 22.6% | 1.33 | -4.0% | -3.4% |
| FY 2022 | 9.6% | 22.5% | 1.33 | -2.2% | -1.9% |
| FY 2023 | 9.5% | 22.6% | 1.33 | -2.0% | -1.7% |
| FY 2024 | 10.2% | 23.4% | 1.45 | -1.2% | +0.6% |
| FY 2025 | 12.3% | 24.7% | 1.66 | -0.1% | +0.7% |
| FY 2026 | 12.4% | 24.7% | 1.65 | 0.0% | +0.2% |

Last Mile schools hold 7.0% to 7.1% of learners in every year, and the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities 19.9% to 20.1%.

The normative formula did two things for needier places. It raised their share of the money, because it raised the fixed amount that small schools live on: Last Mile schools went from 9.3% to 12.4% of School MOOE. And it removed a small penalty. Under the lists of FY 2020 to FY 2023, a Last Mile school received 2.0% to 4.0% less than another school of the same offering and enrollment. Those lists also counted teachers and classrooms, and having few of either is among DepEd's indicators of a Last Mile school, which probably explains it. That penalty is gone.

What the formula did not do is add anything for need itself. The gain of needier places is the gain of small schools.

## What the law and EDCOM II ask for

Three texts ask for more than size.

- **Republic Act No. 12321**, the Last Mile and GIDA Schools Act, approved on July 22, 2026, directs DepEd to "formulate and implement programs responsive to the unique context of Last Mile and GIDA Schools, teachers, and learners". The programs it lists include a "Formula for school maintenance and other operating expenses, in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management" (Sec. 9(b)). GIDA stands for geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
- **EDCOM II's National Education Plan** asks DepEd to "refine its recently implemented School MOOE formula to integrate equity-based measures and allocations, taking into account LGU income class, priority status (e.g., schools with SPED learners), and schools offering SCPs", with 2026 as the target year (Recommendation 6.2.1, target output 6.2.1.a, p. 97; timeline, p. 103).
- **Laguda and co-authors**, writing for The Asia Foundation and EDCOM II, suggest reviewing the fixed cost, "a possible tiering system based on school size", and "an appropriate floor amount for Last Mile schools" (p. 45).

The FY 2026 list is the baseline against which any of these would show. A formula for Last Mile schools under RA 12321 would appear in the table above as a positive number in the fifth column, where the FY 2026 list has zero. A measure by income class would appear as the FY 2024 raise did.

## What this means for school heads

- **A Last Mile school's MOOE is a small school's MOOE.** Being on the Last Mile list adds nothing to the allocation in FY 2026. Plan the year on the amount a school of your enrollment receives, and do not count on a Last Mile premium until DepEd issues a formula under RA 12321.
- **A large school in a poor city or municipality has a case for other funds.** Its PHP 2,100 to PHP 2,400 per learner is set by its size, and the formula gives the poverty around it no weight. The Special Education Fund, the Local School Board and partners are where that case is made; the [guide to the Local School Board and the Special Education Fund](https://nash.com.ph/blog/local-school-board-special-education-fund) covers how.
- **In a School Improvement Plan, describe need with the school's own data.** The allocation does not measure it. Learners in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, learners who walk more than an hour, the absence of electricity or water, and multigrade classes are facts the school holds and the formula does not.
- **Compare with schools of your size, wherever they are.** An elementary school of 150 learners in Batanes and one in Zamboanga del Norte receive the same amount. A difference between your allocation and a like school's is a question for the Schools Division Office.
- **Know what would change your allocation.** One change is required by law: the formula RA 12321 calls for in the programs for Last Mile and GIDA schools. One is recommended: the equity measures EDCOM II's plan sets for 2026. Neither is in the FY 2026 list.

Leading a small school is covered in [Leading a small or multigrade school](https://nash.com.ph/blog/small-multigrade-school-leadership), and the rules on what MOOE may buy in [DepEd School MOOE](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-mooe). Reading an allocation against the school's context serves indicators 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads, on managing finances "aligned with the school plan"; [PPSSH Domain 2: Managing School Operations](https://nash.com.ph/blog/ppssh-domain-2-managing-school-operations) covers them.

## How these numbers were made

The schools are the 45,313 on the FY 2026 allocation list that have SY 2024-2025 enrollment data and are in divisions every list covers, which leaves out the Division of Sulu. Each fiscal year is divided by the enrollment of the last school year completed before it. [School MOOE Allocation by School, FY 2020 to FY 2026](https://nash.com.ph/blog/school-mooe-allocation-fy-2020-2026) documents the lists and how they were cleaned.

Like schools are compared through the FY 2026 schedule: a curve of allocation on enrollment fitted for each of the six curricular offerings. A difference "between like schools" is the difference left after that curve, from a regression of the logarithm of the amount per learner, and its range is a 95% interval with standard errors clustered by city or municipality. The amount a group would receive "for its size and offering alone" puts each of its schools at the curve's amount.

The lists count every funded school, so the amounts and shares are counts, not estimates. The poverty rates are estimates and carry margins of error. Most are small area estimates, which rest on a model as well as a survey. Across the 1,513 cities and municipalities the median coefficient of variation is 11.1%.

The results hold under other choices. With 2021 poverty rates in place of 2023, a school in the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities receives 0.4% more than a like school in the least poor fifth. With the province-level rates of PSA's official statistics, which cover 110 provinces and separately estimated cities, the poorest fifth receives PHP 3,266 per learner and the least poor fifth PHP 2,170, and the difference between like schools is 0.15%. It is 0.14% when the places whose estimate has a coefficient of variation above 20% are left out. With the Last Mile flag of DepEd's 2023 classroom shortage table in place of the SY 2024-2025 list, which agree for 99.2% of schools, the difference between like schools is again 0.0%. Among purely elementary schools alone it is 0.0%.

## Limits

- **Poverty is measured for places.** The rates are for cities and municipalities. They say nothing about differences between barangays, or about a school's own learners.
- **Most poverty rates are small area estimates.** They rest on a statistical model. The least precise rates are the official ones for cities with little poverty: the City of Muntinlupa's 0.1% has a coefficient of variation of 100%. PSA publishes no 2023 rate for the City of San Juan or for Kalayaan, Palawan, which leaves 14 schools without one.
- **Income class is a local government's income, not its households'.** It ranks cities and municipalities by revenue.
- **The income classes are those in force since January 1, 2025.** The lists of FY 2020 to FY 2024 were drawn up under the classification before it, so for those years the classes describe today's ranking of a place, not the one the list's makers had.
- **The Last Mile list is that of SY 2024-2025.** A school added or removed since is counted as it was listed then, in every year.
- **Need is not cost.** The figures show who receives more, not what a school in a remote or poor place costs to run.
- **Allocations, not spending.** The lists show what each school was allotted, not what reached it or how it was used.
- **The Bangsamoro region is not in the lists.**

## Frequently asked questions

### Do Last Mile schools get more MOOE?

Per learner, yes: PHP 4,804 against PHP 2,566 for other schools in FY 2026. For the school, no. A Last Mile school receives the same amount as any other school with the same curricular offering and enrollment. Its higher amount per learner comes from being small (DepEd, School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026; DepEd, Last Mile Schools, SY 2024-2025).

### Does the School MOOE formula consider poverty or the LGU's income class?

Not in FY 2026. Between schools of the same offering and enrollment, the amounts differ by 1.4% between a 5th class and a 1st class city or municipality, and by 0.2% between the poorest and least poor fifths of cities and municipalities; among purely elementary schools they do not differ at all. The FY 2024 list was different: it raised each school's FY 2023 amount by a rate set for its city or municipality, from about 3% to about 49%, with the highest rates where the income class is lowest (DepEd, School MOOE Allocation lists, FY 2023 to FY 2026).

### Which schools get the least School MOOE per learner?

Large schools, wherever they are. Schools of more than 1,000 learners in the poorest fifth of cities and municipalities receive PHP 2,159 per learner, and the lowest amounts for a whole city or municipality are in Metro Manila: PHP 1,564 in the City of Caloocan and PHP 1,580 in the City of Taguig (DepEd, School MOOE Allocation list, FY 2026, and enrollment data).

### Is there a law requiring a separate MOOE formula for Last Mile schools?

RA 12321, approved on July 22, 2026, directs DepEd to formulate programs for Last Mile and GIDA schools that include a "Formula for school maintenance and other operating expenses, in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management" (Sec. 9(b)). The FY 2026 list was issued before the Act and shows no such formula.

### How many Last Mile schools are there?

DepEd's list for SY 2024-2025 has 9,127 school IDs of Last Mile schools in public elementary and junior high school. Of these, 9,040 are on the FY 2026 School MOOE list with enrollment data. They hold 1.52 million learners, 7.1% of the total, and their median enrollment is 96.

## Download the data

- [Need indicators by school (CSV, gzip)](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/school_need_indicators.csv.gz): for each school on the FY 2026 list, whether it is on DepEd's Last Mile list, the income class of its city or municipality, rural or urban, and the poverty rate of its city or municipality for 2021 and 2023 with PSA's measures of precision.
- [Poverty incidence by city and municipality (CSV)](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/psa_poverty_cities_municipalities.csv): PSA's city and municipal level poverty estimates for 2018, 2021 and 2023, with the coefficient of variation and 90% confidence interval of the 2023 estimate.
- [Poverty incidence by province and highly urbanized city (CSV)](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/psa_poverty_areas.csv): PSA's official poverty incidence among population by region, province and highly urbanized city, 2018, 2021 and 2023, with its measures of precision.
- [Analysis tables (ZIP)](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/analysis_tables.zip): the tables behind every figure here, including all 1,513 cities and municipalities and the year-by-year results.
- [School MOOE by school, FY 2020 to FY 2026 (Excel)](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/mooe_by_school_fy2020_fy2026.xlsx) and the [README](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/README.md), [codebook](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/codebook.csv) and [terms of use](https://data.nash.com.ph/mooe-data/v1.4/LICENSE.txt) of the release.

The data files follow DepEd's terms of use, which ask users to credit DepEd as the source, and PSA is the source of the poverty estimates. The charts and the documentation may be reused only with written permission: email [support@nash.com.ph](mailto:support@nash.com.ph).

## Sources

**DepEd issuances and data**

- [DepEd Order No. 008, s. 2019](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2019/05/02/may-2-2019-do-008-s-2019-revised-implementing-guidelines-on-the-direct-release-use-monitoring-and-reporting-of-maintenance-and-other-operating-expenses-allocation-of-schools-including-other-fu/), *Revised Implementing Guidelines on the Direct Release, Use, Monitoring and Reporting of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses Allocation of Schools, Including Other Funds Managed by Schools* (May 2, 2019), Enclosure, Sec. I.
- [DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2019](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2019/05/22/may-22-2019-dm-059-s-2019-prioritizing-the-development-of-the-last-mile-schools-in-2020-2021-reaching-out-and-closing-the-gap/), *Prioritizing the Development of the Last Mile Schools in 2020-2021: Reaching Out and Closing the Gap* (May 22, 2019), para. 2.
- [DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020](https://www.deped.gov.ph/2020/09/07/september-7-2020-do-024-s-2020-national-adoption-and-implementation-of-the-philippine-professional-standards-for-school-heads/), *National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads* (September 7, 2020), indicators 2.2.1 and 2.2.2.
- DepEd, [*Last Mile Schools in Public Elementary and Junior High School*](https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/SY-2024-2025-LAST-MILE-SCHOOL.pdf), SY 2024-2025.
- DepEd, School MOOE Allocation lists under the General Appropriations Act, FY 2020 to FY 2026, from the [DepEd transparency page](https://www.deped.gov.ph/transparency/), and DepEd, [enrollment data by school](https://www.deped.gov.ph/machine-ready-files/), SY 2018-2019 to SY 2024-2025.
- The income class and the rural or urban label of each school, in the [EDCOM II classroom data](https://nash.com.ph/blog/edcom-classroom-data-cleaned), whose source for both is DepEd's 2023 classroom shortage table.

**Laws**

- [Republic Act No. 12321](https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2026/07/22/republic-act-no-12321/), Last Mile and GIDA Schools Act (July 22, 2026), Secs. 4, 9 and 14.
- [Republic Act No. 11964](https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2023/ra_11964_2023.html), Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Act (October 26, 2023), Secs. 4 and 9, and Department of Finance Department Order No. 074-2024 (November 5, 2024), the income reclassification in force since January 1, 2025.

**Reports**

- Second Congressional Commission on Education (2026). [National Education Plan 2026-2035](https://edcom2.gov.ph/media/2026/01/EDCOM-II_Y03_National-Education-Plan.pdf), Recommendation 6.2.1 with target output 6.2.1.a (p. 97) and its timeline (p. 103).
- Laguda, R., Aquino, G., Cangayao, L., and Tagle, R. (2025). [*Realizing Shared Governance: Decentralization of Philippine Basic Education*](https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/27_LAGUDA-et-al-Realizing-Shared-Governance-Decentralization.pdf). The Asia Foundation and EDCOM II. Recommendation 6 (p. 45).

**Other data**

- Philippine Statistics Authority, [2023 City- and Municipal-Level Poverty Estimates](https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/poverty-sae/stat-tables) (small area estimates), and its press release "881 Cities and Municipalities Recorded Poverty Incidence of 20 Percent or Lower in 2023" (February 6, 2026, Reference No. 2026-43).
- Philippine Statistics Authority, [Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold and Poverty Incidence Among Population with Measures of Precision, by Region, Province and Highly Urbanized Cities: 2018, 2021, and 2023](https://openstat.psa.gov.ph/) (OpenSTAT, Poverty, Full Year Poverty Statistics, Table 2a).

*Analysis and charts by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: DepEd's School MOOE allocation lists, enrollment data and Last Mile Schools list; DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2019; Republic Act No. 12321; the Philippine Statistics Authority's poverty estimates; EDCOM II's National Education Plan. Charts may be reused only with written permission from support@nash.com.ph.*

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© 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. All rights reserved. You may quote up to 100 words from this article with the author's name, its title and a link. In research, cite it as: Llego, M. A. (2026, November 12). *Does School MOOE Reach Poor and Last Mile Schools?*. NASH Reviewer. https://nash.com.ph/blog/school-mooe-poverty-last-mile-schools. Any other reuse of the article, its charts or its data needs written permission: email support@nash.com.ph. Terms of Service: https://nash.com.ph/terms#website-content-and-data