Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara confirms that only 22 out of 1,700 targeted classrooms have been completed so far this year, citing delays in paperwork and project implementation by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

In an interview on DZRH’s Dos Por Dos, Angara explained that under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), the authority to implement classroom construction projects currently rests with the DPWH.

“The budget is with us, and we identify which schools need classrooms. But it’s the DPWH that handles the biddings,” Angara said in Tagalog during the interview. “We keep following up because some papers take too long to process.”

To address these bottlenecks, Angara revealed that DepEd has proposed a new provision in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) allowing local government units (LGUs) — including provinces, cities, and first-class municipalities — to directly construct classrooms using funds allocated from DepEd.

“Ang gusto namin itong 2026, meron kaming binigay na provision sa DBM na ilagay doon sa NEP o ‘yong draft budget law na hindi lang DPWH ang pwedeng gumawa,” Angara said.

“Pwede naming ibigay ‘yong pondo sa local government units, pwedeng gumawa ang probinsya, pwedeng gumawa ang lungsod pati first class municipality kung kaya nila, pwede silang gumawa ng classroom. Kasi nakita namin bumagal talaga ang construction,” he added.

Angara said the move aims to make classroom construction more efficient and decentralized, ensuring faster delivery of school facilities to areas most in need.

He also mentioned that the DepEd is exploring partnerships with the private sector through a “Build-List-Plan-First” scheme, where private firms will finance and construct classrooms, with government payments staggered over ten years.

“Kasi for 10 years nililist, kinoconstruct ng pribadong sector, magbi-bid sila tapos 10 years to pay, parang installment. For 10 years ‘yong pribadong sector ang magmemaintain n’ong building,” Angara said, while further noting that each standard classroom, complete with a bathroom, costs around ₱2.5 to ₱3.5 million.

The education chief said that before 2028, the government expects at least 100,000 classrooms to begin construction nationwide — part of DepEd’s long-term goal to close the classroom gap and improve the learning environment for Filipino students.