Marcos shifts construction of classrooms to local government units

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is revamping how the Philippines builds public school classrooms, shifting construction to local governments in a bid to cut a backlog that has forced students into split-day schedules and makeshift learning spaces.

Under a new performance-based partnership, the Department of Education (DepEd) will fund and set standards for school buildings, while provincial governments will take charge of procurement and construction.

The arrangement was formalized on Wednesday through a memorandum of agreement signed with provinces representing more than 90% of the country.

The overhaul targets a classroom shortage of about 145,000 units, which Mr. Marcos said has stretched schools to the limit.

Some students attend classes at dawn, while others leave campus late in the evening. In harder-hit areas, lessons are held in basketball courts or under trees.

“We cannot wait another five or 10 years to ensure that every student has a comfortable classroom,” the President said at the signing ceremony in Malacañan Palace.

The first phase of the program aims to deliver 4,000 classrooms nationwide. About P9.6 billion has been allocated, including P4.1 billion for provincial governments to build about 1,200 classrooms.

DepEd will separately procure roughly 2,800 prefabricated classrooms worth more than P5 billion.

Mr. Marcos said the framework is meant to speed up delivery by cutting bottlenecks that have slowed national projects in the past, while keeping controls in place.

DepEd will provide standard designs, release funds and validate completed projects before turnover.

“There will be no final turnover without written validation from DepEd,” he said, stressing that funding will be tied to performance and compliance with technical standards.

Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said the agreement marks a break from fragmented implementation and working in silos.

“This agreement is our clear promise that no classroom will be delayed due to hesitation, and no education will be interrupted because of a lack of coordination,” Mr. Angara said.

In a statement, DepEd said provincial leaders welcomed the clearer division of responsibilities, with local governments leading construction and the agency overseeing standards, reporting and accountability throughout project implementation.

Malacañang said the President would closely oversee the rollout to avoid problems such as unfinished or nonexistent classrooms.

Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said the warning was meant to signal that local governments would not have unchecked control despite being given funds and procurement authority.

“This is still a DepEd program implemented with local governments. The President will continue to monitor it,” she told a news briefing in Filipino.

The classroom drive sits within a broader education spending push. The proposed 2026 national budget sets aside P85.39 billion for basic education facilities.

Mr. Marcos said the funding must translate into visible results under a strict performance-based system.

Beyond physical infrastructure, the administration is also working to connect more than 14,000 unserved and underserved schools to the internet, building on roughly 34,000 already connected public schools. Learning recovery programs are also being scaled up.

Mr. Marcos said the classroom shortage remains the most urgent constraint on education reform.

“If there are no classrooms, nothing will happen,” he said, noting that teacher hiring, equipment purchases and digital investments would fall short without adequate learning spaces. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking