Local government units will be able to participate in the Department of Education’s school building program if Congress approves a special provision in the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
This possibility was announced by DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara during his Aug. 28, 2025 visit to Baras town to inaugurate a school building and the Sen. Edgardo Angara Building at Baras Central Elementary School.
Present during the same event were TGP partylist Rep. Jose Teves Jr., Gov. Patrick Alain T. Azanza, Baras Mayor Jose Paolo Teves III, Virac Mayor Sinforoso Sarmiento Jr., Viga Mayor Jennifer Tuplano, Vice Governor Robert Fernandez and several provincial board members and other local officials.
Joining Usec. Trygve Olaivar and Usec, Peter Corvera were Catanduanes SDS Dr. Ma. Jeany Abayon, SGOD chief Mary Jean Romero and Baras CES officer-in-charge Arsenia Tejada.
“With the help of Congressman Jose Teves Jr., we are working with Congress to make sure that it is not only the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which will implement the school building program,” the secretary said.
He bared that for the past two years, there has been a special provision in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) that provided that only DPWH would implement the program.
“Nakita natin na medyo bumagal dahil sa dami na rin ng proyekto na hina-handle ng DPWH, isa lang sa mga many programs nila yung school building program,” Angara said, noting that the DPWH may have reached its absorptive capacity.
“We are proposing that next year, not only DPWH would build classrooms but also provinces and cities, even municipalities like Virac which will receive the downloaded funds from DepEd, as long as they have the capability to construct their own classrooms and follow the standards for classrooms and school buildings,” he added.
“We will be happy to download the funds to you as long as pinayagan po yung special provision na tinutulak namin ni Cong Teves sa House of Representatives and later on sa Senado,” the education chief said.
He expressed optimism that the provision will become law at the end of the year and the department will make significant inroads and achieve success in the fight against the classroom deficit problem.
“Nasa kongreso ako nung isang araw, lahat ng congressman, yun ang daing, kailangan po namin ng classroom. Sabi ko, willing po ako, tumulong, gusto ko rin na mas marami ang gumagawa at hindi lang isang ahensya ng gobyerno ang may kakayanan na gumawa ng classroom dito sa bansang Pilipinas,” Angara recalled.
He said he has promised mayors in Catanduanes that the department would allot funding for classrooms during the next round of implementation, especially areas that were hit by the last typhoon.
The department recently said in a statement that it wants to tap local government units and private partners as implementers so that resources can be matched with the right builders, particularly in far-flung and disaster-prone areas where classrooms are needed.
At present, DepEd identifies classroom needs, sets design and safety standards, and programs the funds under the Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF) and the Quick Response Fund (QRF), while the DPWH receives the funds and handles the cost estimates, procurement, and actual construction.
Under Angara’s scheme, LGUs can use their Special Education Fund (SEF) for classroom construction, while the private sector can contribute through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and the Adopt-a-School program.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved in principle a public-private partnership to build some 3,000 to 4,000 classrooms a year, the secretary said, with the department is also adopting flood-resilient and stilted designs so learning can continue even in schools hit by seasonal floods or strong typhoons.
“Flood-resilient structures will have open ground floors for classrooms or multipurpose halls during dry months, and elevated upper floors that remain usable when water levels rise. In coastal and typhoon-prone areas such as the Bicol Region, classrooms will be built on stilts, with reinforced, waterproofed concrete roofing to withstand extreme winds,” the department said.
Sec. Angara vowed to help local officials with their needs as far as the education sector is concerned, within the means of the budget.
In a brief statement to the press, he said that for 2026, President Marcos has prioritized the budget for education, which will be 18 percent higher.
“So marami tayong iha-hire na bagong teachers. Tapos yung gusto ni Pangulo na dagdagan yung admin officers sa eskwelahan para hindi na si teacher yung nag-aatupag sa feeding, yung sa pag-naayos yung sasakyan, sa mga computers. Hindi na lahat si teacher ang gagawa,” he stressed.
He also announced that DepEd will enforce career progression, citing Pres. Marcos’ observation that teachers should not retire as Teacher I, and promotions have been speeded up.
In his second visit to Catanduanes, Angara cited the province’s similarities with his home province of Aurora, which has eight towns and a population of 230,000, with its own surfing spot.
He said he was in the island during the conversion of the former state college into a university as he was chairman of the Higher Education Committee then at the House of Representatives.
In congratulating the university and its former president and now Gov. Azanza, the secretary remarked that access to education has provided opportunities to islanders especially in producing quality graduates.
He named several prominent Catandunganons, including former Sen. Francisco Tatad, TESDA Deputy Director General Felizardo Colambo, and Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APECO) President and CEO Atty. Gil Taway as among the products of the island who have become leaders, whether in the legal profession, in the academe, and in various fields of human endeavor.
“Ito po ang resulta pag ginamit ng tama ang pondo ng publiko. Hindi sa ghost project, hindi sa guni-guni, kundi sa talagang nakikita at nararamdaman at mararamdaman ng mga darating na henerasyon. Yun ang importante na hindi ito para sa atin, mga kaibigan. Ito ay para sa darating na henerasyon at magiging anak nila,” Sec. Angara emphasized.
Both Mayor Teves and SDS Abayon expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the DepEd chief, on behalf of the people of Baras and of the 63,928 learners and 4,301 employees of SDO Catanduanes, respectively.
In introducing the former senator, Cong. Teves averred that it was Angara who made possible the construction of the new school building and helped him realize the construction of the Sen. Edgardo Angara Memorial Building.
He asked other towns not to get jealous as the DepEd secretary was in Catanduanes to check on the situation as far as school buildings are concerned and that his department would provide assistance to tbe best of its capability.