THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said that it is looking to tap other avenues in constructing local classrooms to help ease the backlog in learning facilities.
There is a special provision in the (national expenditure plan or NEP) that expands the construction (of classrooms), Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara told senators in a budget hearing.
“For this year and last year, it was limited to the Department of Public Works and Highways as the authorized institution who could construct classrooms. We are trying to move away from that paradigm and create multiple avenues,” he added.
Mr. Angara said that the agency is also looking to tap civil society organizations (CSO) to construct local classrooms, following the recommendation of Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV.
“It would be better if there were many actors participating,” Mr. Angara said. “I think we can even improve on that provision, which is to allow CSOs as well with proven track records in construction.”
The Senator had filed Senate Bill No. 121, the Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) bill, which will allow local government units and CSOs to build classrooms in compliance with national standards and guidelines within their jurisdictions, with funding support from the national government.
“If we finish (the committee report) by December, then the classroom acceleration program can be added as an item in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) for 2026,” Mr. Aquino, who also heads the Education committee said.
He added that if the report is not completed by December, the programs will be placed in a special provision.
Earlier this year, DepEd estimated it would take 55 years to bridge the backlog of about 165,000 classrooms if the present pace of construction continues.
A report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said that the government must build at least 7,000 classrooms annually in the next 15 years to close the country’s severe public school classroom gap.
The education department had been allocated P928.52 billion under the 2026 NEP, it is equivalent to about 4% of the country’s economic output.
About P13.2 billion will be used to put up about 4,900 classrooms next year. The department will also use P11.8 billion for its feeding program, P16 billion for new laptops for teachers, and another P6 billion for teacher career progression. — Adrian H. Halili
