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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos wants LGUs to get direct funding for classroom construction

Marcos wants LGUs to get direct funding for classroom construction

Published Oct 22, 2025 04:43 pm
ADDRESSING THE CLASSROOM SHORTAGE. DepEd and social enterprise HOPE partner with leading brands to help close the Philippines’ long-standing classroom gap. (MANILA BULLETIN / file)
ADDRESSING THE CLASSROOM SHORTAGE. DepEd and social enterprise HOPE partner with leading brands to help close the Philippines’ long-standing classroom gap. (MANILA BULLETIN / file)
President Marcos is mulling to allow local government units (LGUs) to get direct funding for the construction of classrooms around the country given the urgency to address classroom backlogs.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro announced on Wednesday, Oct. 22, that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Education (DepEd), and LGUs will join forces to accelerate the construction of classrooms nationwide.
They are expected to sign a memorandum of agreement for this matter soon, Castro said.
"Ang nais ng Pangulo, ang kakulangan sa classrooms ay dapat na mapunan sa lalong madaling panahon para sa kabutihan ng mga mag-aaral. Hindi puwede ang mabagal kumilos, iyan ang direktiba ng Pangulo (The President wants the shortage of classrooms to be addressed as soon as possible for the benefit of the students. Slow action is not acceptable, that is the President’s directive)," Castro said in a Palace briefing.
According to Castro, the President wants to implement the swift construction and rehabilitation of classrooms through the coordination of the DPWH, DepEd, and LGUs.
Under this plan, funds will be entrusted to the LGUs, while the DPWH and DepEd will monitor the implementation and construction of classrooms, she added.
Only 2,370 classrooms remain to be built, which will be addressed through the upcoming agreement among the agencies and LGUs.
Around 200 classrooms are expected to be completed by the DPWH by December 2025. Another 822 classrooms are projected to be finished by the second quarter of 2026, with a target of completing 2,000 classrooms by the third quarter of next year.
This development came after it was revealed that only 22 classrooms have been built by the DPWH out of the 1,700 targeted for completion this year.
On Tuesday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara decried how constructing flood control projects, later found to be riddled with anomalies, was prioritized while building of classrooms took a backseat.
"Mukhang nawili sila sa flood control sa totoo lang, e (It seems they got too fixated on flood control projects, to be honest)," Angara said in an interview on the sidelines of the awarding of Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
"Matamaan na kung sino ang matamaan pero parang hindi na naging priority yung pagtayo ng classrooms (Let the chips fall where they may, but it looks like building classrooms stopped being a priority)," Angara expressed.
READ MORE: 'Mukhang nawili sila sa flood control': Angara laments building of classrooms sidelined

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President Marcos classroom construction classroom backlog Philippines DepEd DPWH
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