President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Education and 149 city governments to accelerate the nationwide construction of safe and resilient classrooms.
The partnership allows city governments to oversee procurement, construction, and management, while DepEd sets standards to ensure high-quality learning spaces for students.
Funding comes from the 2026 General Appropriations Act, with P85.39 billion allocated for Basic Education Facilities, including P9.6 billion for 4,000 classrooms and an additional P5.96 billion for 1,700 classrooms under the new agreements.
Marcos emphasized the urgency of providing conducive classrooms for effective learning and instructed that projects be fast-tracked, high-quality, and transparent.
The administration is also advancing complementary reforms, such as expanding the ARAL Program, speeding up learning material procurement, and improving teacher career pathways.
Source: PhilNews24 | February 24, 2026
