SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday urged the Department of Education to reinstate its classroom construction “counterpart” program with local government units  to speed up the building of much-needed classrooms across the country.

Under the proposal, the national government and LGUs would each shoulder 50% of the construction costs, with LGUs taking charge of implementation on the ground.

“Simultaneous construction efforts across LGUs can significantly address the classroom backlog,” Gatchalian said, citing the ₱413.6 billion cost required to close the gap of over 165,000 classrooms.

He emphasized the urgent need to improve learning environments nationwide, stressing, “Kailangan nating maging maparaan sa pagtugon sa kakulangan ng mga silid-aralan, lalo na’t pangunahing pangangailangan ito ng ating mga mag-aaral.”

Gatchalian urged DepEd to collaborate more closely with LGUs and explore innovative, community-driven solutions to ensure safe, conducive, and accessible learning spaces for Filipino students.