League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) National President and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora expressed his hope for more classrooms to be built across the country following a forum tackling the Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act aimed at addressing classroom shortage and other concerns in the nation's education sector.

Held at the Makabagong San Juan National Government Center in San Juan City on Wednesay, Jan. 28, the Mayor’s Dialogue on Accelerating Classroom-Building in Cities and Municipalities was led by Zamora, together with Education Secretary Sonny Angara and Sen. Bam Aquino, who proposed the bill.

A total of 240 local chief executives from various cities and municipalities nationwide, along with national education leaders attended the event to discuss concrete and collaborative solutions to address classroom shortages and strengthen basic education infrastructure, particularly in light of the CAP Act.

"The forum is intended to inform and guide mayors on how to effectively implement the CAP Act at the local level, in close coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd). It aims to clarify roles, procedures, and best practices in accelerating the construction of classrooms, ensuring alignment between national policy and local execution," Zamora said.

He expressed enthusiasm about hosting the dialogue in San Juan City, stating that the forum is a timely opportunity to help local governments better understand and operationalize the CAP Act, emphasizing that the dialogue seeks to ensure that mayors are equipped with clear guidance from DepEd and national leaders, enabling them to translate the law into concrete classroom-building projects that will directly benefit learners across the country.

The mayor also underscored the importance of the President's directive which enables local government units (LGUs) to directly download funds from the national government, enabling for the faster construction of classrooms as long as the LGUs will meet the necessary criteria and requirements.

"Once ma-evaluate ng DepEd na pasado na nga ang LGUs na ito sa requirements at criteria, ma-do-download na ang pondo ng mga LGU at malaking bagay yan sapagkat magiging mas madali na ang pagtatayo ng mga classrooms, dati po kasi umaasa lang ang mga LGUs sa Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), hindi naman po lahat ng LGU ay may kakayahan na magtayo ng sariling mga classrooms dahil po sa kakulangan sa pondo (Once DepEd evaluates that these LGUs have passed the requirements and criteria, the LGUs' funds can now be downloaded and that will be a big deal because it will be easier to build classrooms. Previously, LGUs only relied on the Department of Public Works and Highways. Not all LGUs have the ability to build their own classrooms because of the lack of funds)," Zamora explained.

"Kung meron man nakakapagtayo ng mga classrooms on their own, ito po yung mga LGUs na talagang malaki ang mga pondo. But that is not a case all over our country, most LGUs are really dependent on the DPWH that is why the difference now is ma-do-download na po sa amin yun (If there are those who can build classrooms on their own, these are the LGUs that really have a lot of funds. But that is not the case all over our country. Most LGUs are really dependent on the DPWH, that is why the difference now is that we can directly download the funds)," he added.

Zamora explained that in the previous years, only the DPWH has the capability to build classrooms which led to a shortage of more than 160,000 classroom nationwide. This number could rise to 230,000 by 2028 if construction remains slow.

"There are more than 1600 municipalities and 149 cities in the Philippines, kung sabay-sabay lahat ng mga cities and municipalities na ito na magtayo ng mga classrooms, just imagine how many classrooms you can build in one year, in two years, in three years, compared to just DPWH building (There are more than 1600 municipalities and 149 cities in the Philippines, if all these cities and municipalities build classrooms together, just imagine how many classrooms you can build in one year, in two years, in three years, compared to just DPWH building)," the mayor stressed.

"Kaya malaking bagay talaga ang isinasagawa natin ngayon. Ito po ay isang hakbang na alam kong makakatulong sa ating mga mamamayan lalong-lalo na sa ating mga mag-aaral. Yung mga LGUs po na kulang talaga ng mga silid-aralan na kinakailangan may shifting pa para lang magkasya yung mga mag-aaral sa mga silid-aralan, yan ay malaking balakid sa magandang edukasyon. Kaya dapat talaga ay agad-agad itong maisagawa upang mahabol nga natin ang kakulangan sa mga classrooms all over the country (So what we are doing today is really a big thing. This is a step that I know will help our citizens, especially our students. Those LGUs that really lack classrooms and require shifting just to fit students in the classrooms, that is a big obstacle to good education. So this should be done immediately so that we can catch up with the shortage of classrooms all over the country)," he noted.

During the forum, Zamora showcased San Juan City's efforts in ensuring the quality of education its youth receive, as well as the assistance the city government provides for its teaching personnel.

In May of last year, San Juan City has achieved the highest functional literacy rate among highly urbanized cities in the country in 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS).

According to the PSA, San Juan City achieved a 94.5 percent literacy rate, which means 94.5 percent of its citizens are able to read, write, calculate, and understand.

To support students and teachers, the mayor said, the city government is working hard to provide free gadgets, free fiber optic internet connection in schools and homes, smart TVs in every classroom, free uniforms and customized rubber shoes, emergency go bags, modernized facilities, and financial aid.