EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara announced that 14 provinces across the country may now begin procurement for classroom construction projects.

This follows the official signing of a supplemental Memorandum of Agreement under the Department of Education’s Classroom Building Program.

The qualified provinces—Ifugao, Sorsogon, Mountain Province, Abra, Quezon, Samar, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Oriental Mindoro, Biliran, Dinagat Islands, Misamis Oriental, Southern Leyte, and Siquijor—may now start their respective procurement processes.

“Bahagi ito ng direktiba ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na pabilisin ang pagpapatayo ng mga pasilidad sa edukasyon sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng kapangyarihan sa mga lokal na pamahalaan bilang katuwang sa pagpapatupad nito,” Angara said.

“Sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng lokal na kapasidad at kaalaman, mas mabilis nating maitatayo ang mga silid-aralan na kailangang-kailangan ng ating mga guro at mag-aaral.”

The Department of Education recently conducted two online technical workshops with local government units to ensure a smooth transition. These sessions covered program of work details, engineering and architectural designs, procurement timelines, and sample bidding documents.

In the coming weeks, DepEd is set to sign an additional 37 supplemental agreements. The agency aims to complete agreements with all remaining provinces and cities in the next phase.

In preparation for the rollout, several LGUs and Schools Division Offices have conducted market scoping and validation of potential school sites to ensure project viability.