Executive Secretary Ralph Recto ordered agencies to fast-track the procurement of school supplies, hiring of personnel, and construction of facilities, stressing that delays in education spending must be avoided.

Recto said this following President Marcos’ order to monitor the entire procurement chain closely—from fund release to project completion—to ensure the timely delivery of education programs.

“This year’s ‘shopping cart’ of education goods, manpower, and facilities must be bought and hired without delay,” he said Friday, March 20.

“Kailangan ng catch-up dito… huwag lubayan sa paghingi ng resulta (We need to catch up… we must not stop demanding results),” he added.

Recto said agencies will be required to submit regular progress reports to track implementation and immediately address bottlenecks.

He likened the process to a “grading period” where problem areas can be quickly identified and resolved.

“This historic high spending should not be squandered on slow procurement. What is in the budget must leapfrog to classrooms,” he said.

The 2026 national budget allocated P1.345 trillion for the education sector—from preschool to postgraduate—equivalent to 4.36 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Recto said key priorities include classrooms, teachers, and instructional materials.

He noted that the budget covers the procurement of textbooks and learning materials, as well as 121,000 laptops for educational use.

“The rule should be what is budgeted for one fiscal year must be delivered within one school year,” he said.

To address delays in classroom construction, Recto said the government is tapping local government units (LGUs) to undertake building projects.

“There will no longer be a monopoly… Let the stakeholders themselves build what will directly benefit them,” he said.

He noted that construction delays have long been a problem and that new approaches are needed to speed up delivery.

Recto also stressed the need to accelerate the hiring of teachers and education personnel.

He said 65,184 new teaching and non-teaching positions funded under the 2026 budget can be filled immediately.

“We are hiring 179 new DepEd personnel daily… teacher hiring in areas where there are critical shortages is something that cannot be postponed,” he said.

For tertiary education, Recto said the government will continue to build facilities to improve the learning environment for students in state universities and colleges.

He said access to free education must be complemented by quality infrastructure and resources.

“Kailangan din ng mga pasilidad para sa kanila. Hindi sapat ang libre, dapat quality. Providing access is one thing. Kailangan mahusay din (They also need facilities. Free is not enough—it must be quality. Providing access is one thing. It must also be excellent),” he added.

Recto emphasized that, alongside programs such as free higher education and scholarships, adequate facilities must be provided to ensure better learning outcomes.