President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered that funds for classroom construction be directly released to local government units (LGUs) to accelerate efforts in resolving the country’s classroom shortage crisis.
The move is seen as a loss of confidence in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) after the agency failed to complete a significant portion of its projects and amid allegations of corruption.
According to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the DPWH will soon sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with LGUs to implement the new system.
“The President wants the classroom shortage to be addressed as soon as possible for the benefit of the students. Slow action is not acceptable — that is the President’s directive,” Castro said.
The order came after Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon admitted before the Senate that the DPWH had completed only 22 out of its 1,700 classroom target for 2025. Dizon described the agency’s output as a “very deplorable performance,” noting that 882 projects are still ongoing while another 882 have yet to start.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) criticized the government’s pace, saying the 1,700-classroom target was insufficient compared to the estimated 165,000-classroom shortage nationwide, which could rise to 200,000 by 2028.
“This is enraging considering that many teachers and students are suffering from our situations in classrooms,” ACT chair Ruby Bernardo said. “Thousands of students are being crowded in small classrooms and some classrooms are being divided.”
Under the new MOA, LGUs will directly receive funds for classroom construction, while DepEd and DPWH will monitor project progress. The goal is to complete 2,370 classrooms, Castro said.
DepEd has proposed a ₱912-billion budget for next year, with ₱63 billion allocated to the Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF). The department also plans to work with the military’s engineering brigades and private groups through public-private partnerships to boost classroom construction.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara attributed the DPWH’s slow performance to its “heavy workload,” citing road, bridge, and flood control projects as major distractions.
“It seems they got too engrossed with constructing flood control projects, to be frank about it,” Angara remarked.
ACT, however, criticized the government’s plan to delegate responsibilities to LGUs and private entities. “Instead of outsourcing its responsibility, the Marcos administration and the DepEd must fix and streamline the classroom construction process,” Bernardo said, urging the government to raise education spending to 6% of the gross domestic product (GDP), in line with international standards.
“While billions are wasted on corruption, public schools continue to suffer from the lack of teachers, education support personnel, classrooms, textbooks, and basic facilities,” she added.
Marcos earlier vowed to build 40,000 classrooms by the end of his term in 2028. From July 2022 to August 2025, DepEd and DPWH have completed 19,250 classrooms, reducing the backlog from 165,443 to 146,193.
The Palace expects the DPWH to finish another 200 classrooms before the end of the year and 822 more by the second quarter of 2026. By the third quarter of next year, at least 2,000 classrooms are targeted for completion.