The Cebu Provincial Government is accelerating its own classroom construction program using its Special Education Fund to prevent students from bearing the cost of national project delays.
DepEd 7 Director Arturo Bayocot revealed that no new national classroom projects have broken ground in Central Visayas six months into 2026 due to delayed central funding.
The province increased its educational allocation to P1.821 billion, planning to build nearly 500 classrooms this year to address an estimated backlog of over 1,000 classrooms.
THE CEBU Provincial Government is accelerating its own classroom construction program to prevent students from bearing the cost of delays in national school infrastructure projects, after education officials confirmed that no new DepEd-funded classroom projects have broken ground in Central Visayas six months into 2026.
The intervention positions Cebu as one of the first local governments in the region to directly fill a widening education infrastructure gap that officials warn could deepen classroom shortages already worsened by disasters.
In an interview with SunStar Cebu on Thursday, June 4, 2026, Provincial School Board (PSB) secretary Christopher Baricuatro said the Province is stepping up to address a critical classroom shortage, aligning with the directive of Governor Pamela Baricuatro.
“The allocation of the province through SEF (Special Education Fund) for TLS (Temporary Learning Shelter) and for smart buildings will definitely play a big role in classroom construction,” Baricuatro said.
“Because, if we will have to wait for the DepEd (Department of Education) through DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) construction… This backlog will be affected. The students and learners will be affected. So, this is the initiative of the province,” he added.
During a DepEd 7 Brigada Eskwela program on Tuesday, June 2, responding to media inquiries, DepEd 7 Director Arturo Bayocot revealed that no new national classroom projects have broken ground in Central Visayas six months into 2026.
Bayocot said regional offices are still waiting for the DepEd Central Office to release the official priority list funded under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The delay threatens to prolong the displacement of Cebuano students. Many have relied on makeshift facilities since a magnitude 6.9 earthquake and typhoon Tino damaged schools in late 2025.
Using its SEF, the Provincial Government plans to build nearly 500 classrooms this year through a combination of TLS and sustainable smart buildings.
Construction of 269 TLS across the province will begin in mid-June, following an initial project assessment on May 22. The structures will replace classrooms damaged by typhoon Tino and the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in 2025.
The supplemental budget approved on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, also allocated P100 million for smart buildings, adding to the P700 million previously set aside. The allocations were finalized during the PSB regular meeting on Tuesday, June 2, where the board approved a P367.9-million supplemental budget. This raises the Province’s total educational allocation from P1.453 billion to P1.821 billion.
Historical deficiencies
While Baricuatro admitted he did not hold the exact statistical data for the total classroom backlog, he estimated the deficit exceeds 1,000 classrooms in Cebu Province. He also emphasized that the severe shortage is not a recent development.
“The lack of classrooms in the province is substantial,” Baricuatro said.
“Before the earthquake and Tino, the classroom [deficit] was already present. After the earthquake and in Tino, there was already a deficit,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
The back-to-back disasters in late 2025 merely compounded a severe structural deficit that local schools had been battling for years.
Every town and municipality in Cebu was originally slated to receive one building, translating to 204 classrooms. The P100-million budget increase will add six to eight more buildings, bringing the total yield to around 225 modern classrooms. / CDF