Marcos: ‘Ghost classroom projects’ less likely under LGU oversight

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said “ghost classroom projects” are less likely to slip through under local government units (LGUs), citing stricter accountability where officials can be directly confronted by residents.

Marcos highlighted the country’s classroom shortage, which has forced schools to implement shifting schedules and hold classes in basketball courts and even under trees.

As of December 2025, the Philippines faces a shortage of 145,000 classrooms.

READ: DepEd eyeing to tap LGUs in classroom construction projects

“How have we allowed this to become such a bad, bad situation? I cannot—I cannot understand,” Marcos said during the memorandum of agreement signing between the Department of Education (DepEd) and provinces for a nationwide classroom building at Malacañan Palace.

“It is the reason why our admin—this administration has been finding all kinds of alternative ways that we can immediately close this yawning gap. Because we cannot wait another five or ten years to ensure that every student has a comfortable classroom,” he added.

Under the agreement, LGUs will handle the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of classrooms within their jurisdictions, including procurement and on-site implementation, in accordance with national standards.

“The DepEd funds for classrooms in your area, instead of going through the national government, will, as much as possible, be handled directly by the LGU if they are capable,” Marcos said in Filipino.

“I told them, ‘What if there’s a problem again with a ghost project or substandard work? That won’t happen under the LGU. It won’t work because the people are right in front of you. If you don’t do your job properly, you will be held accountable. Every day—you’ll be knocked on at night. They’ll tell you, ‘Fix the problem’,” he added.

READ: Sona 2025: Marcos to build 40,000 new classrooms before his term ends

He stressed that no project will be turned over without written validation from the Department of Education confirming compliance with national standards.

For the first tranche of the program, the government has allocated P9.6 billion, of which P4.1 billion will fund the construction of about 1,200 classrooms by provincial governments.

Meanwhile, more than P5 billion will be used by DepEd to provide around 2,800 prefabricated classrooms. /mcm