DBM releases P31.8 billion to build, repair 22,325 classrooms
MANILA, Philippines — In line with the implementation of the K-12 program that lengthened the number of years to be spent for basic education, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P31.8 billion to build and rehabilitate 22,325 classrooms across the country.
In a statement on Monday, the DBM said the fund released to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) aimed to meet the classroom needs of the Department of Education (DepEd) in light of the expected increase in student population under the K-12 program.
The amount was directly released to the DPWH, as the DBM cited that the agency had been tasked to implement the construction of classrooms based on a list of school buildings and work program submitted by the DepEd.
The money was sourced from the DepEd’s Basic Educational Facilities Fund (BEFF) under the national budgets for the years 2014 and 2015.
The bulk or P28.3 billion was charged against the P53.9-billion BEFF under the 2015 budget, specifically for the “construction, replacement, and/or completion of kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school buildings and technical vocational laboratories, and the construction of water and sanitation facilities,” the DBM said. The fund from the 2015 allocation was released in two tranches of P12.8 billion and P15.5 billion.
The remaining P3.5 billion, meanwhile, was earlier charged against the P44.6-billion BEFF under the 2014 budget to “address remaining [classroom] shortages and meet the requirements of the K-12 Basic Education Program.”
The respective numbers of classrooms to be built or repaired per region are as follows: Caraga, 1,630 classrooms; Cordillera Autonomous Region, 241; National Capital Region, 534; Region 1, 537; Region 2, 446; Region 3, 1,480; Region 4-A, 2,016; Region 4-B, 185; Region 5, 1,692; Region 6, 908; Region 7, 3,674; Region 8, 2,395; Region 9, 1,224; Region 10, 1,689; Region 11, 1,833; and Region 12, 1,841 classrooms.
“Every year, we face the need to build more classrooms due to the growing number of public school students. Fortunately, we’re able to keep pace by allotting yearly increases in budgetary support for quality classrooms. With enough public funds for our education system, we can construct new school buildings or rehabilitate damaged classrooms,” according to Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad.
“This takes time as the process of determining the number of targets is very exhaustive, with DepEd giving us a list of classrooms only after a thorough assessment. But we’re confident of achieving these requirements as the success of the [Aquino] administration’s K-12 school program depends on our efforts,” the Budget chief said.
Abad added that “[t]his fund release accomplishes two crucial things: it promotes the proper implementation of the K-12 program, and it creates a safe learning environment for our students under the administration’s ‘build-back-better policy.’”
“Not only do we give our students the school facilities they need; we’re also making sure that these structures can withstand possible damage from calamities,” he pointed out.
For 2015, the DepEd was allocated a P319-billion budget, up 135 percent from 2014’s P281 billion.
