Senator Bam Aquino on Thursday called on the Department of Education (DepEd) and partner agencies to fast-track the building of new school facilities, cautioning that prolonged delays leave students packed in congested rooms and force educators to handle split shifts.
During a Senate inquiry evaluating the state’s school infrastructure initiative, Aquino emphasized that the ₱67 billion earmarked in the 2026 national budget must promptly materialize into physical classrooms.
The allocation is a crucial component of the record ₱1.34-trillion overall education sector budget, tailored to chip away at the nation’s severe deficit of roughly 166,000 classrooms.
“Ang tunay na sukatan ng tagumpay ay hindi kung magkano ang nailaan. Ang tunay na sukatan ay kung gaano karaming silid-aralan ang naitayo at gaano kabilis itong napakinabangan ng ating mga estudyante,” he said.
“Habulin natin ang target. Mag double-time tayo. Kung may kailangang alisin na mga problema at bottleneck, alisin natin. Kung may kailangang pabilisin na proseso, pabilisin po natin. Dahil ang pondo ng taumbayan ay nailaan para tugunan ang pangangailangan ng taumbayan,” he added.
The lawmaker cautioned that setbacks directly burden learners and instructors, with numerous campuses forced to conduct multi-shift schedules due to severe space constraints.
“Kapag hindi ho natin naipakita na kaya nating gamitin nang maayos at mabilis ang pondong nakalaan para sa classrooms, kami po ay natatakot na posibleng mababawasan ang pondo para po sa susunod na taon,” he said.
Aquino highlighted that consistent funding remains essential to eliminating the classroom deficit under the government’s 10-year National Education Plan.