DepEd finds 1,000 DPWH-made classrooms ‘unusable’

MANILA, Philippines — Not just flood control projects, but even classrooms built by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were found to be not completed.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara yesterday revealed that more than 1,000 classrooms turned over by the DPWH to the Department of Education were not completed.

In an interview over dzRH, Angara said the DepEd has launched an audit of classrooms built by the DPWH following reports of ghost and substandard flood control projects.

“We are seeing incomplete (classroom projects). It’s not totally a ghost, but the classrooms are not finished… It’s not being used because the classroom is not fully completed,” Angara said, noting that some of the classrooms turned over lacked paint and electricity.

Angara added that his office is verifying whether the more than 1,000 incomplete classrooms were fully paid for, adding that he has ordered all concerned officials to submit reports on ghost or unfinished school buildings.

In a memorandum dated Sept. 12, issued by DepEd Assistant Secretary for human resources and organizational development and education facilities Aurelio Paulo Bartolome, all regional directors, school division superintendents and public school district supervisors were tasked to submit reports on incomplete school buildings.

“In light of recent reports on ghost or uncompleted school buildings, the DepEd Central Office reminds all field offices of their responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in school infrastructure projects,” Bartolome said.

He added that officials must identify irregularities and flag anomalous cases such as prolonged stoppages, incomplete delivery or structural defects.

“The consolidated reports shall be used by the central office to pursue corrective action, demand accountability and ensure learners receive safe and functional classrooms,” he added.

Under the current setup, the DPWH is tasked with constructing classrooms. However, Angara proposed transferring the responsibility to local government units (LGUs).

“It would be better if the LGU will do it because we can see that the construction of school buildings has slowed down in the last few decades because the DPWH is doing a lot and it’s not a priority to build classrooms. There are a lot of local government units in the cities, provinces that have the capacity and can also give funds,” he noted.

Angara pointed out that civil society groups and private organizations often build cheaper classrooms, sometimes with free labor, and could be tapped as partners.

He also cited the high cost of DPWH-implemented classrooms, which range between P2.5 million and P3.7 million each. 

Despite a backlog of more than 165,000 classrooms nationwide, Angara said the DepEd can only build about 4,000 new classrooms this year.

“If we don’t change our system, we won’t be able to solve it. Classroom backlogs will increase,” Angara said.

To address this, the DepEd will ask Congress to fund the completion of classrooms turned over by the DPWH.

Realignment

The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) yesterday backed the move to realign the budget for flood control projects to the education sector.

In a statement, COCOPEA chairperson Betty Cernol-McCann said the education sector’s urgent needs are being sidelined as government funds are diverted to other interests.

“We urge the government to swiftly reallocate funds for public works to increase education budgets for scholarships, student and teacher subsidy programs and provide essential support to strengthen both public and private education,” it added.

On top of DepEd’s proposed P928.52-billion allocation for 2026, Angara recently urged Congress to realign the flood control budget and approve an additional P134.5 billion for education.