The number of classroom backlogs could reach 200,000 by 2028, after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) revealed that only 22 classrooms were completed in 2025.
During the hearing on the DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget, Senate Committee on Basic Education Chairman Senator Bam Aquino expressed disappointment with the agency after learning that only 22 out of the target 1,700 classrooms had been finished this year.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon himself expressed surprise over the low number of completed classrooms.
He said the DPWH would investigate the cause of the delays and implement measures to speed up classroom construction.
Dizon also expressed full support for Aquino’s Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, which was recently declared a priority measure by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in response to the ongoing shortage of classrooms in public schools.
Dizon likewise backed the Senate proposal to remove the classroom construction budget from the DPWH and directly allocate it to local government units (LGUs).
He added that the government must be more aggressive in pursuing public-private partnerships (PPP) to accelerate the construction of much-needed classrooms across the country.
