Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Friday said the department aims to begin the construction of 18,950 classrooms next year to address the country’s ongoing shortage.
During the DepEd budget hearing, Angara informed senators that the national classroom backlog of 165,000 was reduced to around 142,000 following the completion of approximately 23,000 classrooms as of October 2026.
He noted that classroom construction experienced delays during the pandemic when funds were redirected to “ayuda” or government financial assistance programs.
Angara stated that DepEd holds an allocation of P65.4 billion under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which will fund the construction of 6,000 classrooms managed by the Department of Public Works and Highways, 10,671 classrooms built through local government units, and the remaining balance executed directly by DepEd.
Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Basic Education, pointed out that the current year’s funding allocation remains usable for projects under the 2026 GAA.
“So, the budget that we allocated for 2026 is still live in 2027. And we would like, maybe by plenary, maybe you can give us an assurance of what percentage of this will be completed by next year,” Aquino said.
Angara replied that establishing exact completion dates remains difficult, but assured lawmakers that the agency will provide a formal timeline estimate.
“Your Honor, because they’re different types. Yung mga requiring demolition, you’re expecting at least a two- to three-year horizon for those. But the simple ones like the learning continuity space, they are already built. Those were put up in maybe one or two months. But the more permanent structures, you’re talking maybe one to two years minimum,” Angara said.
Aquino noted that the Second Congressional Commission for Education (EDCOM 2) is developing a tracking system for completed classroom projects and expressed hope that DepEd will support the platform.
“As you know, EDCOM 2 is building a tracker for this. I hope DepEd can continue supporting that tracker so we can be transparent in the number of classrooms built, because some of these will be done in 170 days, 200 days. Some of these will take more than 300 days,” Aquino said.
“So, if it is clear to our countrymen, clear to us we know where the funds went,” Aquino also said.