President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release Php 17.27 billion to accelerate the nationwide construction of classrooms, a move aimed at addressing infrastructure shortages and uplifting the quality of basic education.
Acting on this directive, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Rolando Toledo approved, on April 13, 2026, the release of Php 17.27 billion to the Department of Education (DepEd).
The amount, released through a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO), will fund the construction of 4,960 classrooms nationwide, including the provision of essential school furniture and fixtures to bring immediate relief to overcrowded schools and underserved communities.
Charged against the Php 85.40 billion Basic Education Facilities (BEF) Fund under the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the release is a decisive step toward closing the country’s classroom gap and ensuring that every Filipino learner has access to a safe, conducive, and dignified learning environment.
Toledo said that the initiative is not merely about infrastructure, but about securing the future of the nation through education.
“On the orders of the President, we are accelerating the construction of classrooms because the dreams of the youth should not wait. Their education should not be overcrowded, neglected, or left behind,” Secretary Toledo said.
“With every classroom we build, a child is given a better future. It is not just walls and a roof—it is hope, opportunity, and the first step towards a better life,” he added.
The release also reinforces the President’s Nationwide Classroom Building Program, which institutionalizes a landmark partnership between DepEd and local government units (LGUs) to accelerate the construction, rehabilitation, and repair of classrooms nationwide.
Through this whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach, the Administration aims to ensure that no learner is left behind due to distance, poverty, or lack of classrooms.