Senator Bam Aquino on Thursday called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to expedite the release of funds for classroom construction to local government units (LGUs). He said swift disbursement would allow LGUs to immediately start building new school facilities, helping to tackle the country’s persistent classroom shortage.
Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Education, stressed that releasing funds quickly is essential to achieving the target of constructing 25,000 classrooms using the ₱65-billion allocation under the 2026 national budget.
“Mahalagang maibaba sa lalong madaling panahon ang pondo sa ating mga katuwang na lokal na pamahalaan para agad nang masimulan ang pagtatayo ng mga classroom,” Aquino said in a statement.
“Sa ganitong paraan, mas mapapabilis ang pagpapatayo ng mga silid-aralan at mas maraming estudyante ang mabibigyan ng maayos at ligtas na lugar para matuto,” he added.
Earlier, Aquino had advocated for an increase in the classroom construction budget in the 2026 spending plan to help reduce the estimated backlog of 165,000 classrooms nationwide.
The budget allows DepEd to pursue multiple construction strategies, including partnerships with LGUs, civil society organizations, and non-government groups with proven track records.
The Senate has also approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 1482, known as the Classroom-Building Acceleration Program Act, authored by Aquino. The measure would enable LGUs and qualified NGOs to construct classrooms under DepEd standards while implementing price ceilings and safeguards to prevent corruption and expedite construction.
Aquino noted that the classroom-building initiative could also create significant employment opportunities, estimating that it could generate over 100,000 jobs nationwide.