SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano has called for the immediate restoration of funding for the Department of Education’s Basic Education Facilities program, emphasizing its crucial role in providing safe and accessible learning spaces for millions of Filipino students.

“According to UNESCO, physical infrastructure is essential because it significantly impacts children’s enrollment, attendance, completion rates, and even learning outcomes,” Cayetano said.

The senator warned that cuts to DepEd’s school rehabilitation and repair fund would severely limit the government’s ability to address classroom congestion and repair damaged facilities.

Without adequate funding, he explained, the government would struggle to create safe, effective learning environments for students.

He noted that these challenges, compounded by the damage from extreme weather events and climate change, call for a firm commitment to rehabilitate and improve education facilities.

He also pointed out that while the General Appropriations Bill includes increased funding for new school construction, resources for repairs have been cut.

“Despite the urgent need for repairs and rehabilitation, the proposed P6.132 billion budget for school building repairs under NEP 2025 was slashed by P2 billion to P4.132 billion in the General Appropriations Bill,” he said.

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, emphasized that while temporary measures like double and triple-shift schedules allow more students to attend school, they compromise education quality by reducing instructional time.

“Research shows that this is a temporary solution that doesn’t fully address the problem of classroom congestion,” he said.

In his appeal, Cayetano called for the maximum utilization and efficiency of resources in rebuilding and improving school infrastructure.

He also stressed that investing in repairs and renovations is not just a budgetary issue, but a matter of public safety and educational equity.