Education Secretary Sonny Angara confirmed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed only 22 out of the 1,700 targeted school buildings for this year.
In an interview, Angara explained that while the Department of Education (DepEd) holds the budget and identifies which schools need repair or construction, it is still the DPWH that handles the bidding process.
He added that they have been constantly following up on the projects since the processing of documents and implementation take too long.
To address this, Angara proposed the inclusion of a new provision in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) that would allow local government units (LGUs) to directly implement classroom construction using the funds allocated by DepEd.
According to the secretary, this setup would empower not only DPWH but also provinces and cities to carry out school construction projects.
Angara said this measure would help streamline the process, ensure better implementation, and speed up the delivery of services to schools nationwide.
(PHOTO COURTESY: DEPED)
