More than 165,000 classrooms short of what public schools need, the Philippines is sitting on over P65 billion in allocated funds — and Sen. Bam Aquino wants that money moving.
The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, pressed the Department of Education on Thursday to release classroom construction funds to local government units without delay, warning that the backlog will not shrink until ground is broken.
The 2026 national budget earmarks P65 billion for 25,000 new classrooms, and the spending plan already allows DepEd to tap LGUs, civil society groups, and nongovernmental organizations with established track records as construction partners. LGUs seeking access to the funds must first execute a memorandum of agreement with the department.
Aquino has been pushing the legislative side of the equation as well. The Senate has passed on third and final reading Senate Bill 1482, his proposed Classroom-Building Acceleration Program Act, which would formally authorize LGUs and qualified NGOs to build classrooms within their jurisdictions in accordance with DepEd standards. The measure also sets a price ceiling on construction costs as a check against overpricing and graft.
Beyond the education gains, Aquino framed accelerated classroom construction as an economic lever. Each classroom project typically employs four to six workers over three to four months, he said, putting the potential job creation figure at more than 100,000 nationwide. Local governments, he added, stand to collect taxes from the contractors they hire — revenue that can be channeled back into social services for their communities.
