Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770782436308photo-collage.png_cropped_processed_by_imagy.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A teacher at the Tanza elementary School in Navotas City cleans a classroom on Friday, days after floods brought by torrential rains submerged the school. The Department of Education decided to push through with the opening of classes on July 29, except for those &#x27;severely damaged&#x27; by the effects of habagat and typhoon Carina. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/Marcos via PPA Pool</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that his administration will pivot its focus on education in his remaining years in power, underscoring that the Philippines’ classroom shortage was pegged at some 145,000 units.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/9/tulfo-wants-blacklisting-of-unqualified-contractors-for-school-infra-projects-2004">Tulfo wants blacklisting of unqualified contractors for school infra projects</a></div><p>Filipinos have been “studying and dreaming of a better future in poorly built facilities, cramped spaces, and sometimes no facilities at all,” the President lamented in a speech delivered before Department of Education (DepEd) and provincial government officials in Malacañang.</p><p>“How have we allowed this to become such a bad, bad situation? I cannot – I cannot understand,” he said.</p><p>“I have pledged for the remainder of this Administration, we will prioritize – first priority will be education,” he said.</p><p>“Let us all work together as we ensure that our children will get the education that they deserve,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NEW SYSTEM</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The administration will address the Philippines’ classroom shortage problem by downloading DepEd funds to provincial governments to help speed up the construction of proper learning spaces for Filipino students, Marcos Jr. said.</p><p>“We cannot wait another five or ten years to ensure that every student has a comfortable classroom,” he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/27/decades-old-plight-newer-challenges-loom-as-philippines-enters-new-school-year-1006">Decades-old plight, newer challenges loom as Philippines enters new school year</a></div><p>“We are changing the system because the process that we have now is much too slow,” he added, noting that this new strategy is expected to “take a big bite out of that gap.”</p><p>Under the agreement, the DepEd will download some P4.1 billion to provincial governments for the construction of around 1,200 classrooms for the first tranche.</p><p>The DepEd will provide the technical specifications and the design for provincial governments to follow, and will also spend some P5 billion for the procurement of about 2,800 prefab classrooms, the President said.</p><p>“Ang pondo ng DepEd para sa classroom doon sa lugar ninyo, imbes na idadaan pa sa national government, hangga’t maaari, basta’t kaya naman ng LGU (local government unit)… ay sa inyo na ida-download ang pondong ‘yan,” he said.</p><p>“In total, the first tranche will deliver 4,000 new classrooms nationwide, which we hope will directly improve the daily learning and teaching experience,” he said.</p><p>Marcos Jr. said he is confident that this new scheme would not be a fresh source of ghost and substandard projects.</p><p>“Ang sabi ko, hindi uubra ‘yan pagka sa LGU. Hindi uubra ‘yan dahil ang tao mismo ang kaharap ninyo,” he said.</p><p>“Pagka hindi maganda ang gawin ninyong trabaho, sisitahin kayo. Araw-araw kayong – gabi-gabi kayong kakatukin sa bahay ninyo. Sasabihin, ‘Ayusin ninyo ‘yung problema... Kaya’t malakas ang loob ko na magiging maayos lahat ng ating gagawin,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;NO FINAL TURNOVER WITHOUT VALIDATION FROM THE DEPED&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In the past 6 months, the Philippines has been investigating billions-worth of anomalous flood control projects, but has yet to thoroughly look into other reportedly questionable infrastructure projects such as classrooms and farm to market roads.</p><p>Under the law, the Philippines is obliged to allocate the biggest chunk of its annual national budget to education, but authorities have yet to explain why the country’s education sector lags behind its regional counterparts despite the supposed deluge of funds for Filipino learners.</p><p>The Philippines “must practice full transparency in implementing this MOA, or any government project for that matter,” Marcos Jr. said, underscoring that “the challenges that hound our education sector are immense.”</p><p>“There will be no final turnover without a written validation from the DepEd to confirm that the project meets our standards,” the President said.</p><p>“We have the opportunity to correct at least part of those problems to help our students learn in a better environment.”</p><p>Aside from the faster construction of more classrooms, the government is also working to make internet connections more accessible in schools, as well as come up with more learning interventions to improve literacy among Filipinos, he said.</p><p>More than 700,000 Filipinos aged 5 and above could not read or write in 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report published last year.</p><p>The PSA noted that the highest proportion of individuals who cannot read and write was recorded in age group 5 to 9 years at 20.1 percent.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><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/Ap5vVCWTGpc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><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/pB8qVI9Hh9g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The administration will address the Philippines’ classroom shortage problem by downloading DepEd funds to provincial governments to help speed up the construction of proper learning spaces for Filipino students, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.</p>

The administration will address the Philippines’ classroom shortage problem by downloading DepEd funds to provincial governments to help speed up the construction of proper learning spaces for Filipino students, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

'How have we allowed this?': Marcos to dedicate remainder of term to fixing education

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'How have we allowed this?': Marcos to dedicate remainder of term to fixing education

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 11, 2026 12:01 PM PHT

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Department of Education

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