President Marcos assured the public that ghost projects and substandard classrooms will not be tolerated under a new agreement between the Department of Education (DepEd) and local government units (LGUs) aimed at accelerating school construction nationwide.

Speaking during the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement in Malacañan on Wednesday, Feb. 11, the President said local accountability would help prevent irregularities in the implementation of the program.

“Ang sabi ko nga sa kanila, sa lahat, eh sabi ko, papaano ‘yan, baka magkaproblema ulit sa ghost project at saka sa substandard? Ang sabi ko, hindi uubra ‘yan pagka sa LGU. Hindi uubra ‘yan dahil ang tao mismo ang kaharap ninyo (I told them, what if we run into problems again with ghost projects and substandard work? I said that won’t work with LGUs because the people themselves face you directly),” he said.

“Pagka hindi maganda ang gawin ninyong trabaho, sisitahin kayo. Araw-araw kayong – gabi-gabi kayong kakatukin sa bahay ninyo, sasabihin, ayusin ninyo ‘yung problema. Kaya’t malakas ang loob ko na magiging maayos lahat ng ating gagawin (If you do not do your job well, you will be called out, and people will knock on your doors day and night telling you to fix the problem, so I am confident everything we do will turn out well),” he added.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President’s remarks were intended as a warning to local officials and not an indication that oversight would be left solely to LGUs.

She said the program remains a joint undertaking between DepEd and local governments and continues to be monitored at the national level.

“Binanggit po iyan ng Pangulo bilang babala sa mga namumuno sa LGU na kahit kayo ay binigyan ng karapatan at binigyan kayo ng budget at kayo iyong may ‘say’ sa procurement or mag-decide sa procurement, hindi ibig sabihin na kayo lang ang maaaring tumingin diyan (The President mentioned that as a warning to LGU leaders that even if you were given authority and budget and have a say in procurement, it does not mean you are the only ones overseeing it),” Castro said.

She added that the administration intends to accelerate construction while ensuring corruption risks are addressed.

“Kaya nga po natin nililinis ito para, unang-una, matugunan ang kakulangan sa silid-paaralan at the same time, mapabilis (We are cleaning this up primarily to address the classroom shortage and speed things up),” the Palace Press Officer said.

“Pero hindi po ibig sabihin nito na ililipat ang korapsyon dahil ayaw po ng Pangulo ng korapsyon (But it does not mean corruption is being transferred because the President does not want corruption),” she said.

Under the agreement, DepEd will provide funding, technical standards, and classroom designs, while LGUs will take charge of procurement and construction in their respective areas.

The government has allocated P9.6 billion for the construction of around 4,000 new classrooms nationwide as part of efforts to address the country’s classroom shortage.

President Marcos said giving LGUs both responsibility and funding support allows faster implementation by reducing bureaucratic delays.

“By giving the LGUs a greater role in the implementation, we streamline the process. We reduce delays and move faster in building schools that our children need,” he said.

The initiative forms part of the administration’s broader push to tackle the country’s classroom deficit, which the President said had reached 145,000 units as of December 2025.

The arrangement also allows funds to be downloaded directly to capable LGUs instead of being routed through national agencies to accelerate project rollout.