Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV on Friday, July 17 said the Senate Committee on Basic Education, which he chairs, will investigate the implementation of the P67-billion classroom construction program under the 2026 national budget to determine its status.

Aquino made the commitment after visiting Kasiglahan Village National High School and Kasiglahan Elementary School in Montalban, Rizal, where two of the school buildings were declared unsafe due to structural defects, including severe cracks in classrooms and hallways.

The senator noted that both buildings were completed in 2013 but declared unfit for use in 2019 and 2023. Respectively, the buildings are still covered by their 15-year structural warranty.

“We will track down the people who built that. It hasn't even been six years, yet it's already unusable. That simply won't do. That amounts to a holdup; it’s as if we were robbed,” Aquino said.

“Whoever is responsible, I hope their conscience moves them to fix it,” he added.

Also during the visit, school officials informed Aquino of the need for additional classrooms, saying the schools are struggling to accommodate the growing number of students, including those from families that relocated to Montalban from nearby areas.

Because of the classroom shortage, both schools implement two-shift classes to accommodate their 13,000-plus student population.

In an interview, Aquino said the education panel will schedule its inquiry on the status of the implementation of the government’s classroom construction program on Thursday, July 23.

As head of the education committee, Aquino helped secure the P67-billion allocation in the 2026 national budget for the construction of 25,000 classrooms to help address the country's 166,000-classroom shortage.

“We will conduct a hearing regarding the Classroom Acceleration Program so we can find out where the P67-billion allocated for classrooms has gone. Let’s see if we can still catch up within the year,” Aquino said.

“It has been seven months—the rainy season is already here—but we want to see this fund still utilized for classrooms for the youth. It is very evident that there is a critical need for them,” he added.