A lawmaker has laid down a target for the government and private sector toconstruct 26,000 new classrooms within the 2026 calendar year. This education infrastructure overhaul aims to eliminate the “inhumane” 5 AM school shifts that currently force young students into pre-dawn commutes.
Sen. Bam Aquino suggests a radical “repurposing” strategy to transform vacated POGO hubs, underutilized BPO offices, and closed private school properties into learning spaces and the new foundations of Filipino education.
“Kung meron po kayong mga building na tingin po ninyo pwede pong magamit, mga private school na nagsara, baka may mga lumang POGO dyan na walang tao, baka may mga building po dyan na pwedeng outright bilhin, pwede rin po yun. We included that in the special provision as another modality,” he said.
Presiding over the hearing of the Committee on Basic Education this Monday, Sen. Aquino addressed the staggering 165,000-classroom shortage that has forced Filipino children in congested areas like Cavite and Metro Manila to wake up at 4:00 AM for “early shifts” that begin before sunrise.
“Kailangan po nating magsama-sama para magtayo ng mga silid-aralan para sa estudyanteng Pilipino na sa kasalukuyan ay nagshi-shifting, nagsisiksikan sa mga classroom or nagkaklase sa mga pasilyo sa labas ngeskwelahan or nagshe-share ng mga covered courts kung saan back to back to back to back sila,” he said.
Sen. Aquino issued a direct marching order to the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and private partners to achieve the target. The hearing also exposed a critical land bottleneck. DepEd often has the money but lacks the buildable space.
“May nakalaan na Php 67.9 billion para sa classrooms. Ang goal po natin ay makapagpatayo ng at least 26,000classrooms ngayong 2026. At the minimum, we want to see 26,000 classrooms started in 2026,” Aquino said.
This reality has fueled the push for unconventional solutions, including the potential repurposing of government-seized assets and properties—such as former POGO hubs—to serve as immediate educational facilities. Sen. Aquino urged agencies to fast-track legal mechanisms that would allow DepEd to utilize these lands without the bureaucratic red tape that currently drags construction times to an average of three years per classroom.
Sen. Aquino is betting big on a revitalized Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to bypass government inefficiencies. Sen. Aquino cited the successes of former President Noynoy Aquino’s implementation of PPP, which built over 9,000 classrooms, but demanded a smarter, faster version for 2026.
“Mahalaga na makita natin na nagagamit ang pondong ito na nagagawa ang mga classroom sa tamang presyo, sa tamang paraan, at sa tamang panahon. Uulitin ko po, sa tamang presyo, sa tamang paraan, at sa tamang panahon,” he said.
