MANILA—Senator Bam Aquino slammed the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) completion of only 60 classrooms for 2025, saying the figure is “completely unacceptable” and underscores the need for his proposed Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act.

During interpellations on Senate Bill No. 1482, Aquino said mismanagement and the prioritization of flood control projects in recent years contributed to the agency’s poor performance.

“Honestly, I think it was mismanaged in the past three years. Napopondohan iyong mga flood control, iyong classroom na pinaka-basic sa ating bansa, hindi napopondohan,” Aquino told Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson.

“To have accomplishments of 30, 40, or 60 a year is simply unacceptable, kaya dito po tayo pupunta,” he added. The DPWH earlier reported that it completed only 22 out of its 1,700 classroom target for 2025.

Aquino said the CAP Act would help close the country’s 165,443-classroom gap while also preparing buffers for classrooms damaged by natural disasters and annual increases in student enrollment.

“Last time po tayo nag-privilege speech, we talked about finishing this problem in six years. We need to spend P90 billion every year for six years, with a price cap of P1.8 million per classroom,” he said, noting that the estimate is significantly lower than the DPWH’s P3.5 million per classroom.

“Roughly, that’s about 39,000 classrooms per year to finish it within six years,” he added.

Under the measure, local government units (LGUs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) with proven track records may undertake classroom construction using national funds, provided they follow Department of Education (DepEd) standards. Aquino said this approach departs from the traditional DPWH-only model, which he blamed for the low output.

“Previously, DPWH lang iyong gumagawa ng classroom, and that led to only 60 classrooms being finished for this year. So what are the different modalities? LGUs, CSOs, but LGUs will have a much bigger share,” he explained, adding that public-private partnerships are also included.

“Subukan natin iyan and then bantayan natin. Every year, pag nakikita natin what works, iyan ang pondohan natin,” he said.

Aquino clarified that the DPWH will not be removed from the process entirely, as DepEd will still assign a portion of its budget to the agency.

“(DPWH) Secretary (Vince) Dizon has spoken to DepEd and said they want to, with a renewed effort and better systems, they want to engage again,” he said.

“Sabi ko naman, if they do want to engage, puwede, but we should put a price cap. Kung may price cap po tayo na P1.8 million, dapat lahat ng modality, ganun din po iyong presyo o lower,” he added.

Aquino earlier welcomed the passage of the P1.38-trillion education budget, the highest in the country’s history, saying it can significantly address classroom shortages and improve student nutrition. But he urged vigilance during the bicameral conference committee to ensure the funds remain protected.

“Bantayan natin ang proseso. For the first time in history, iyong bicam ila-livestream din. Ang panawagan ko, bantayan natin ang budget ng edukasyon. Siguraduhin natin walang mababawasan, siguraduhin natin na walang mapopondohan na mga proyektong alanganin,” Aquino said.

“Bantayan natin hanggang dulo, hanggang maging batas ito, na hindi magagalaw ang perang iyan,” he added.