ONLY 22 out of the 1,700 classrooms targeted for construction for 2025 by the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) have been completed so far.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon was surprised when he revealed the matter during the Senate Committee on Finance's deliberations on the agency's proposed P625.78-billion budget for fiscal year 2026 on Monday, October 20.
“Totoo ba 'to? Ang baba nito ah. So, for 2025 po, out of 1,700 na dapat gawin, 22 pa lang po ang completed at 822 ang ongoing at meron pong 882 na not yet even started,” he said.
“So, it's a very deplorable rate of only 15.43 percent,” he added.
Senate Committee on Basic Education chairperson Senator Bam Aquino said that for 2025, the country’s classroom backlog stands at 146,000.
“By 2028, if we continue at this rate, aabot ho tayo ng 200,000,” he said.
Dizon vowed to look into the reason for the delay of the classroom construction.
Aquino floated the possibility of downloading the funds directly to the local government units instead of the DPWH, so they can build classrooms in their areas of jurisdiction themselves.
In a statement, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it shares public concern over the slow pace of classroom construction, which the agency said could be attributed to the heavy workload of the DPWH and its change in leadership.
The agency noted, however, the efforts of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address the prevailing classroom shortage across the country.
It said from July 2022 to July 2025, a total of 22,092 classrooms were constructed nationwide, reducing the classroom backlog from around 165,443 down to 146,708.
In his State of the Nation Address in July, Marcos vowed to work double time for the construction of 40,000 classrooms before his term ends in 2028.
He sought the help of the private sector and the Congress in order to achieve this goal.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara earlier said the country's lack of classrooms required schools to implement shifting of classes or hybrid learning arrangements in order to accommodate the students. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)