President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tasked all concerned government agencies to expedite the construction of classrooms in the Ilocos Region through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

In a meeting with the Regional Development Council (RDC) in Dagupan City on Friday, Marcos lauded the Department of Education’s (DepEd) efforts in boosting the literacy rate in the region, which is traditionally higher than the national average.

“I’m glad to see the intervention at DepEd, the construction of the classrooms. I think we need to accelerate that. I do not think we want to wait until 2030 for all of those classrooms,” he said.

Marcos explained that partnering with the private sector through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) allows public infrastructure and development projects to be carried out more quickly and at a lower cost to the government.

He also said that these types of arrangements should be reinstated to speed up the construction of classrooms.

Earlier, the DepEd proposed the construction of nearly 3,000 classrooms in the Ilocos Region from 2025 to 2030.

It has also proposed hiring more school personnel such as principals, administrative officers, school counselor associates, and project development officers for the region under the department’s budget proposal for 2026.

Meanwhile, DepEd is filling vacant positions in the region while carrying out annual creation and deployment of teaching items. #DailyTribune #PBBM #DepEd