The House of Representatives has approved a ₱22.5-billion increase in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2026 classroom construction budget, nearly seven times more than the agency’s original request.
The boost raises DepEd’s allocation for new facilities to about ₱50 billion, which lawmakers estimate could fund over 19,000 classrooms—roughly 12% of the nationwide backlog of 165,000.
A special provision in the budget will also allow DepEd to directly build schools through its own engineers or partnerships with DPWH, LGUs, and the private sector, ending its reliance on DPWH alone.
Lawmakers said the change aims to fast-track school building projects long hampered by red tape and inefficiencies.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara vowed to mobilize the agency’s engineers to ensure quality and accountability as the agency works to ease classroom shortages.
Source: PhilNews24 | September 23, 2025
