The provincial government of Albay will build 29 new classrooms across the province following the signing of a supplemental memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the central office of the Department of Education (DepEd).

In an interview, Albay Governor Noel Rosal said the province aims to begin construction before the opening of School Year 2026–2027 to address the immediate need for more conducive learning facilities.

Rosal said the project has an allocation of more than PHP90 million under the 2026 General Appropriations Act through the Basic Education Facilities Program.

“This is a welcome development because once the go signal is given to us, we can immediately conduct the bidding process. The challenge is to finish the projects before school opening. While they may not be fully completed by then, at least construction can already start,” he said.

He said the program allows local government units (LGUs) to directly implement classroom construction projects in coordination with DepEd.

Rosal noted that although the allocation is still insufficient to fully meet the province’s classroom requirements, the initiative will help ease shortages in several schools.

“For Albay, although it is still small considering the huge demand, especially for repairs, at least we were given more than PHP90 million for 29 classrooms,” he said.

The governor clarified that the current allocation covers only the construction of new classrooms and does not yet include the rehabilitation or repair of existing school buildings.

He added that the average cost per classroom ranges from PHP2.6 million to PHP3 million to allow more schools to benefit from the program.

Rosal said the provincial government also plans to adopt an expandable classroom design to allow future upgrading and expansion depending on the needs of individual school sites.

He added that DepEd provided the list of beneficiary schools based on assessments and priority listings, focusing on those with the most urgent classroom needs.

Meanwhile, Legazpi City Mayor Hisham Ismail led the signing of a separate memorandum of agreement for the construction of 50 new classrooms in the city.

The new classrooms will rise in several schools in both the northern and southern parts of the city, including San Francisco Integrated School, Taysan, Homapon, Estanza, Matanag, Legazpi City National High School, and Bagumbayan High School. The initiative also includes the repair and rehabilitation of old and dilapidated classrooms that pose safety risks to students and teachers.

Construction is expected to begin within the year once all documentary and funding requirements are completed, in line with Education Secretary Angara’s directive for the immediate downloading of funds.

Ismail said the project aims to provide students with more comfortable, quality learning facilities while helping address classroom shortages in the city’s public schools.  (PNA)