The Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday it is accelerating the rollout of its P58.43-billion classroom construction budget for 2026, with more than P36 billion already moving through various stages of implementation as the government seeks to convert allocations into completed school facilities.

The budget covers 21,714 classrooms nationwide, but DepEd acknowledged that a significant portion remains in transition between the approval, procurement, and construction stages, underscoring persistent challenges in translating appropriations into physical infrastructure.

As of the latest monitoring report, P17.27 billion worth of classroom projects have been approved by the Department of Budget and Management, while additional fund releases are still being processed. 

Another P36.23 billion, covering 10,488 classrooms at 2,437 school sites, is already in the implementation pipeline, either under procurement or under construction.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department is working to reduce delays between budget authorization and project execution, noting that faster fund movement is critical to addressing classroom shortages.

“Our objective is to move faster from budget to building. Every classroom that enters procurement, receives funding approval, breaks ground, or reaches completion is part of that effort,” Angara said.

The budget execution strategy includes multiple implementation channels aimed at improving absorption rates, such as local government units, national agencies and private-sector participation.

DepEd said P9.31 billion of the classroom budget has been coursed through agreements with 79 local government units, covering 2,632 classrooms in 666 school sites. 

Another P7.63 billion has been allocated for 2,217 classrooms to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways, while a further P3.62 billion for 1,081 classrooms is pending release under a second batch.

For temporary relief

A separate P3.5-billion allocation has been earmarked for 1,622 prefabricated Learning Continuity Spaces, intended as temporary relief while permanent structures are being built. 

Three of these projects have already been completed in Bulacan, Quezon, and Davao, with 159 ongoing and targeted for completion by July.

An additional 3,100 classrooms under the Public-Private Partnership School Infrastructure Program remain in the bidding stage, forming part of a broader push to expand delivery mechanisms beyond traditional procurement.

The focus on accelerating budget utilization comes amid long-standing concerns over delays in infrastructure delivery in the education sector. While DepEd has consistently secured multi-billion peso allocations for classroom construction, implementation bottlenecks have slowed the conversion of funds into completed facilities.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) earlier warned that the country faces a classroom backlog of about 165,000 units, with more than 51,000 existing classrooms projected to be condemned by 2028 due to age and structural deterioration. 

The commission said that without faster absorption and delivery of infrastructure funds, the deficit could widen significantly in the coming years.