LAWMAKERS from the Makabayan bloc have called on the House of Representatives to investigate the extremely low performance of the Department of Education’s School Building Program under both the Duterte and Marcos administrations.

In House Resolution No. 425, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co urged the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture to look into the sluggish pace of classroom construction nationwide.

“The goal is to determine what really happened to the classroom construction program,” Tinio said.

“It is alarming that targets for classroom construction have continuously decreased—starting from the Duterte administration and continuing under the Marcos Jr. administration. Both the targets and the actual number of completed classrooms have dropped significantly,” he added.

Citing official data, Tinio noted that only 192 classrooms were completed in 2023, when Vice President Sara Duterte was still education secretary.

“Now in 2025, according to Secretary Angara, only 22 classrooms have been completed out of the 6,000 targeted. We want to know why this is happening,” he said.

Tinio also questioned whether the government is prioritizing corruption-prone flood control projects over the urgent need for classrooms.

The lawmaker stressed that the country’s classroom backlog currently stands at around 165,000—continuing to hamper access to quality education in public schools.

To help address the shortage, the House-approved 2026 national budget includes a special provision authorizing four modes for implementing classroom construction projects: through the DepEd, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), local government units, and public-private partnerships.

The proposed inquiry aims to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the government’s efforts to provide safe and adequate learning spaces for Filipino students.