If the government fails to take urgent action, it could take more than five presidencies to resolve the country’s classroom shortage, Senator Bam Aquino warned on Tuesday.
Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, sounded the alarm during a public hearing, stressing that the crisis is worse than official figures suggest.
Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) place the backlog at 165,000 classrooms. However, Aquino said the actual number needed to accommodate all students is even higher.
“Kapag hindi natin mahanapan ng solusyon ang backlog ng classrooms, we’re looking at not just years but decades, siguro mahigit pa sa limang presidente ang lilipas bago natin mahabol ang kakulangan na ito kung hindi natin ito mamadaliin at talagang bibigyan ng tamang pansin,” he said.
Aquino noted that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in his fourth State of the Nation Address, had already approved prioritizing the construction of 40,000 classrooms. Without corruption and other hindrances, Aquino believes the government could meet—or even surpass—this goal.
Citing reports from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), Aquino said many classrooms are holding twice their intended capacity, forcing 5.1 million students to become “aisle learners” without proper seats.
Some schools have resorted to double or even triple shifts to accommodate the overflow of students.
According to the DepEd, constructing a classroom costs around ₱2.5 million. However, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) estimates it at ₱3.5 million or more. This discrepancy prompted Aquino to question where government funds were going, especially since only 847 classrooms were built in 2024.
“Gusto nating malaman. Nasaan ba talaga ang pagkakaiba? During the technical working group (TWG), we will require the different groups to submit all the way to cost of materials, cost of labor. Malalaman natin para makumpara natin. Baka naman iyong semento niyo kalahati lang ang presyo sa semento nila,” Aquino said.