Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno has criticized the current system of Brigada Eskwela, pointing out that teachers are frequently forced to spend their own money to fund necessary school repairs.
Brigada Eskwela, also known as the National Schools Maintenance Week, is an annual Department of Education (DepEd) program conducted a week before classes officially begin.
The initiative relies on the collective efforts of teachers, parents, community members, and the private sector to clean and refurbish schools for the upcoming academic year.
In a social media post on Wednesday, June 10, Diokno questioned why educators are still bearing these financial burdens out of their own pockets, especially given the trillion-peso budget allocated to the country’s education sector.
“Hindi dapat ganito. Kaya naghain tayo ng House Resolution No. 1102 para paimbestigahan ito: saan napupunta ang PHP 1.015 trillion na pondo?” Diokno stated.
“DepEd, bakit may mga guro pa ring napipilitang gumastos, at paano natin masisigurong hindi na ito mauulit taon-taon,” the lawmaker added.
Meanwhile, Senator Bam Aquino, upon his return as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, announced plans to launch a separate inquiry into the slow utilization of a ₱67-billion fund.
The budget was originally earmarked for the construction of 25,000 classrooms to address severe classroom shortages across the Philippines.