SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian stressed that a major boost to basic education is on the horizon, as P68 billion in next year’s budget is set to fund the construction of up to 27,000 classrooms.

The Senate Committee on Finance added P19.3 billion on top of the P48.7 billion allocated under the General Appropriations Bill or House Bill No. 4058.

The current allocation of P68 billion is nearly five times the P15.25 billion initially proposed under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, also emphasized that the proposed 2026 national budget will give the Department of Education greater flexibility in implementing classroom construction.

Under the provision, the DepEd may enter into agreements with local government units and civil society organizations for classroom building.

In areas with security challenges or peace and order concerns, the DepEd may also tap the Armed Forces of the Philippines Corps of Engineers.

To ensure that school sites under DepEd’s public-private partnership projects are construction-ready, an additional P160 million has also been allotted under the public schools infrastructure program for site development activities.