PASIG CITY – While the governnment spent billions, if not trillions of pesos, in flood control projects throughout the country, many of which turned out to be defective or even ghost projects, only 22 classrooms have so far been built this year.

Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara admitted the slow work on building classrooms despite a big backlog as he pushed for reforms in classroom construction to address the long-standing backlog in schools.

This came after the Department of Education (DepEd) raised concerns over the slow pace of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which had completed only 22 of the 1,700 target classrooms as of October.

To date, the DepEd reported 146,708 classroom backlogs nationwide.

Angara said construction could speed up once projects are opened up to other sectors, like the local government.

“Gusto na naming baguhin ‘yung sistema… Ang gusto namin ngayon, pati isama na ‘yung (We want to change the system… We now want to include the) local government units (LGUs),” he said, citing delays caused by the DPWH’s sole implementation of all DepEd-funded projects since 2018.

He added that provinces, cities, and even capable first- and second-class municipalities may soon be allowed to handle school building projects.

Besides LGUs, Angara said the agency is also exploring construction through the DepEd, public-private partnerships (PPP), and partners such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Engineering Brigades.

DepEd Media Relations Head Dennis Legaspi said the proposed inclusion of these flexible construction provisions in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) was submitted in early 2025.

Legaspi cited the DPWH’s “heavy workload, late validation and costing submissions, and leadership changes” as reasons for the delays.

Angara, however, expressed optimism that construction will speed up under the leadership of DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.

“Ako’y kumpiyansa na sa ilalim ng liderato ni Secretary Vince Dizon, bibilis naman (I’m confident that under Secretary Vince Dizon’s leadership, it will move faster),” he said.

To date, the DepEd has reported 146,708 classroom backlogs nationwide, while the DepEd and DPWH have completed 22,092 classrooms from July 2022 to July 2025.