Angara: Classroom construction must not be exclusive to DPWH

Education Secretary Sonny Angara wants a special provision in the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Act removing the sole authority of building classrooms from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in an effort to significantly lessen the classroom backlog now estimated at 165,000.

- By BELLA CARIASO

"We're proposing that even local government units and possibly civil society organizations (will be authorized)," Angara said.

The move came amid the controversy besetting the DPWH after President Marcos questioned the utilization of billions of pesos allocated for flood control projects.

"Let's call it a school building flexibility provision so that many entities can participate in the program," Angara said.

Presently, a classroom costs between P2.5 and P3.5 million, Angara said.

"If we don't build them now, it'll get harder and harder, and your level of difficulty will increase over the years," he noted.

Angara said the government will also leverage public-private partnership in the construction of classrooms.

"Under the school building program, (the target) is 6,000 (classrooms) a year. If your backlog is 165,000, it doesn't get you very much, so that's why we're proposing the PPP. We can build at least over a hundred thousand in the next three years. It needs to be attractive for the private sector to bid," Angara said.

Budget recovery Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) will be able to recover the P11-billion budget slashed by Congress in the 2025 budget, Angara disclosed.