Senator Bam Aquino rallied government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to maximize the historic P67-billion classroom construction budget, warning that the ultimate measure of success is not the amount allocated but the speed at which classrooms are delivered to students.
The Senate Committee on Basic Education discovered structural deficiencies and bureaucratic bottlenecks following an EDCOM 2 site inspection at CasiglahanVillage Elementary and National High School in Montalban, Rizal.
The panel uncovered that 18 out of 103 classrooms constructed between 2013 and 2015 were completely condemned and deemed unsafe within just four to five years of completion, a far cry from the mandatory 15-year structural warranty. This substandard construction has forced students into severe overcrowding, with some starting their morning shifts as early as 5:30 AM.
In his opening statement at the Senate hearing on Thursday, Aquino emphasized that the classroom crisis is an urgent reality directly affecting students and teachers daily.
“Ang tunay na sukatan ng tagumpay ay hindi kung magkano ang nailaan. Ang tunay nasukatan ay kung gaano karaming silid aralan ang naitayo at gaano kabilis ito napakinabangan ng ating mga studyante. Dahil kada araw na naantala ang pagpapatayo ng classroom, may batang patuloy na nagsisiksikan sa silid aralan,” he said.
The P1.34-trillion national education budget allocates approximately P67 billion (reaching up to P85 billion when factoring in furniture and amenities) to target the construction of over 20,000 new classrooms for 2026. However, systemic issues threaten to slow execution.
He says that the true yardstick of government success lies not in glossy reports, but in the actual state of classrooms in the furthest villages.
Kada linggong naaantala ito, may guro na patuloy na nagtuturo sa dalawa o tatlo na shift. Kadabuang hindi natin naipapatayo ang mga classroom na ito, patuloy nating ipinapasa ang bigat ng problemang ito sa mga estudyante,” he saidz
While the Department of Education (DepEd) reported that P49.8 billion has been allocated across various tracks, including LGU-led procurement, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineering contracts and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), local leaders expressed deep frustration over a lack of transparency and ground-level delays.
Mayors from remote municipalities, such as Infanta, Quezon, shared painful testimonies of students holding umbrellas inside makeshift classrooms during heavy rains.
Burdensome administrative requirements, specifically matching land ownership titles and undergoing lengthy geotechnical soil investigations, have critically slowed down the DPWH and LGU rollouts. Out of more than 1,600 target LGU agreements, DepEd has finalized just 258 Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs).
Refusing to let red tape compromise the education of millions, Senator Aquino laid down clear immediate solutions to accelerate progress. DepEd was ordered to publish a transparent, verified master list of all beneficiary school sites and LGUs, giving local executives visibility to align their local Special Education Funds (SEF).
The committee approved a workaround allowing local governments to use Tax Declarations for site validation when clean land titles are unavailable, avoiding prolonged ownership disputes.
The senator directed agencies to aggressively call out structural warranties against contractors who deliver substandard buildings, such as the ones found in Rizal.
“Kung may kailangang alisin na mga problema at bottleneck, alisin po natin. At kung may kailangang pabilisin na proseso, pabilisin po natin. Dahil ang pondo ng taong bayan ay nailaan para tugunan ang pangangailangan ng taong bayan,” he added.
Moving forward, a Technical Working Group (TWG) will meet every two weeks via Zoom to monitor MOA signings and cash flow acceleration before the 2027 budget deliberations begin.
He reminded the DepEd, DPWH and DBM that keeping these funds idle risks budget cuts in future cycles.
“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 notes that the 11,000 classrooms launched are a good first step, but are hardly enough to completely erase the decades-old deficit plaguing the education sector.
“Habulin natin ang target, mag-double time tayo.Ang laban po natin ay hindi lamang para mag tayong gusali. Ang laban po natin ay para mabigyan ng disentent lugar ang bawat batang Pilipino upang matuto, mangarap, at magkaroon ng tsansa para sa isang mas magandang kinabukasan,” he said.
