Rowegie Abanto

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)  teacher Gladys Ramirez is looking forward to having solar power in all the classrooms in the school in Barangay Buluang, Busuanga, in Palawan on November 29, 2022. "Mainit lagi dito sa amin, except sa tag-ulan, pero sandali lang ang tag-ulan dito sa amin kaya, kailangan namin dito ng electric fan para sa ventilation," she says when asked what she is looking forward with the arrival of solar power in the community. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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PALAWAN-SOLAR

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zA4xWCdhmI0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>MANILA — Lawmakers have approved a P65-billion budget to build classrooms in next year&#x27;s budget, Sen. Bam Aquino said Tuesday, noting that up to 25,000 classrooms can be constructed in 2026 with the funding.</p><p>Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said that the budget for classroom construction had been increased from P13 billion to P65 billion.</p><p>&quot;We are funding P65 billion worth of classrooms in the 2026 budget, that&#x27;s about anywhere from 20,000 to 25,000 classrooms,&quot; he said.</p><p>Aquino said that the Philippines has a 166,000-classroom backlog, and the government needs to sustain the level of spending for classrooms in the 2026 budget for 6 to 7 years to address the gap.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/13/deped-pushes-expanded-inclusivity-programs-in-2026-budget-1957">DepEd pushes expanded inclusivity programs in 2026 budget</a></div><p>The Department of Public Works and Highways only constructed a total of 60 classrooms this year, Aquino said, noting that the classroom budget had been underfunded in previous years and that the agency focused on flood control projects.</p><p>For the longest time, the DPWH has been the sole agency tasked with building classrooms, but with the classroom acceleration program and the special provisions in the national budget, Aquino said local government units can now also construct the infrastructure.</p><p>He said around 800 municipalities and cities signified readiness to build classrooms.</p><p>The bicameral conference committee has approved a nearly P1 trillion budget for the Department of Education.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/3/deped-hopes-to-hire-more-than-30k-teachers-in-2026-1741">DepEd hopes to hire more than 30K teachers in 2026</a></div>

<p>Lawmakers have approved a P65-billion budget to build classrooms in next year's budget, Sen. Bam Aquino said Tuesday, noting that up to 25,000 classrooms can be constructed with the funding.</p>

Lawmakers have approved a P65-billion budget to build classrooms in next year's budget, Sen. Bam Aquino said Tuesday, noting that up to 25,000 classrooms can be constructed with the funding.

P65 billion worth of classrooms included in 2026 proposed budget — Bam Aquino

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P65 billion worth of classrooms included in 2026 proposed budget — Bam Aquino

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 16, 2025 11:14 AM PHT

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Bam Aquino

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