The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Friday said that 50,000 annual classroom constructions must be pushed amid concerns about the widening classroom backlog nationwide.
“For us, at least 50,000 classrooms must be built if we are to address the current shortage of 166,000 classrooms,” ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo told BusinessWorld in Filipino in a Facebook message.
“Building these classrooms is the key to addressing classroom overcrowding, which is one of the reasons children are unable to learn effectively,” she added.
ACT noted that from July 2022 to August 2025, the government built only 19,250 classrooms and has committed to building only 40,000 classrooms by 2028.
“For four years, President Marcos Jr. allocated only a meager amount for the construction of new classrooms compared with the funding poured into flood control projects,” Ms. Bernardo said.
“His claim that the administration is aggressively fixing and improving the education system, and that education is among its highest priorities, is nothing but a lie,” she added.
Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) showed that classroom backlogs still stand at 166,000, contradicting the Department of Education’s (DepEd) previous report that it has declined to 144,000.
The commission warned that the gap could reach 219,000 by 2028, as more than 51,000 classrooms will be condemned due to age, and 70% of public school buildings require major repairs, retrofitting, or condemnation.
Apart from old infrastructure, EDCOM 2 noted that natural disasters could further increase the deficit, citing 10,000 damaged classrooms in Cebu in October last year and the 7.8-magnitude Sarangani earthquake on June 8, which damaged 12,493 classrooms across five regions and 39 school divisions.
DepEd has allocated P65 billion for the construction of 24,964 classrooms in its 2026 national budget. Meanwhile, P7.7 billion is set aside for the repair and rehabilitation of existing school buildings.
Of the targeted classrooms, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is committed to constructing over 5,000 classrooms this year. The agency reported 2,100 classrooms had been completed as of July 15, while 2,900 are still undergoing construction. — Almira Louise S. Martinez