Senate probe of 166,000 classroom backlog sought

SENATOR Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV on Tuesday said he is planning to conduct an inquiry into the 166,000 classroom backlog, flagging the “slow” progress in classroom construction despite a P1.34-trillion education budget for 2026.

In a press statement, Mr. Aquino, who was reinstated as chairperson for the Senate Committee on Basic Education, raised that the rainy season may hamper the construction of 25,000 classrooms.

“We know that the rollout of the classroom construction is slow, and we would like to find out how we can expedite this ahead of the rainy season,” Mr. Aquino said.

Citing data from the Department of Education, he also raised that at least 1,000 classrooms have been destroyed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Mindanao.

During the June 3 inauguration of an Israel Embassy-funded digital learning center in Manila, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said that the government is set to complete 20,000 classrooms by the end of the year.

He added that he will also prioritize legislative measures directly addressing budget transparency such as the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability-Blockchain Act, which has been identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council as among the priority bills.

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin T. Gatchalian also pushed for the enhanced implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Development System Act promoting the role and equipment of local government units (LGUs) in ensuring the continuity of education in times of disasters.

“The LGUs are the first to respond during disasters and calamities, so it is important to expand their role and ability to ensure the continuity of learning in cases of emergency,” Mr. Gatchalian said in Filipino.

He also renewed his push for the Senate Bill No. 53 or the 21^st Century School Boards Act which allows local school boards to come up with response measures and implement them during emergencies.

The earthquake that hit Mindanao on June 8, which coincided with the opening of classes, has affected about 8,642 schools, according to Mr. Gatchalian. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel