Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing for a nationwide implementation of a "counterpart" program that would see local government units (LGUs) partner with the national government to share construction costs, which would fast-track the construction of classrooms and resolve the country's severe classroom shortage.

Drawing from his experience as former mayor of Valenzuela City, Gatchalian said the counterpart approach had proven effective in speeding up classroom construction. Under the program, LGUs would take charge of building classrooms while co-financing the cost with the national government.

“The school building counterpart program is effective in the sense that LGUs construct classrooms simultaneously. During my time as Valenzuela mayor, hundreds—even thousands—of LGUs took part in the program. That’s why we were also able to complete more classrooms,” Gatchalian explained.

The senator, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, emphasized the importance of working in tandem with LGUs to reduce bottlenecks in infrastructure development, especially in education. 

He noted that when classrooms are built in parallel, students benefit sooner from improved learning environments.

“When we build classrooms all at once, we cut waiting time and deliver quality education faster,” he said.

However, Gatchalian acknowledged that not all LGUs have equal capacity to fund classroom construction. 

While larger and wealthier cities may be able to shoulder up to 50% of the cost, smaller fourth- and fifth-class municipalities—many of which operate on limited budgets—would require additional support from the national government.

As of the latest data, the Department of Education faces a staggering shortage of 165,443 classrooms, with an estimated total funding requirement of over P413.6 billion.