Gatchalian: Let LGUs construct classrooms to address shortage

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday proposed that local government units (LGUs) be tasked with constructing classrooms to address the shortage across the country.
 
“DepEd will get 50% of the funds, and the LGU will get the other 50%, but it’s the LGU that builds. I think that is quite effective. In effect, you now have thousands of LGUs simultaneously building,” said Gatchalian.

Earlier, Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said that only 191 classrooms were constructed as of December 31, 2021, and there are around 15,000 ongoing construction of classrooms, some of which date all the way from 2014.
 
Pangandaman added that for 2021, the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) obligation rate for the construction of school buildings was 92% but the disbursement rate was only 45%.

“The concept there is to decentralize the construction because the construction part is the bottleneck,” Gatchalian said.
 
The lawmaker previously indicated plans to file a bill that will allow the construction of classrooms in school buildings that are more than four stories high.
 
He said this would enable the faster construction of classrooms, especially in urban areas where schools have higher student populations.
 
Under the proposed 2023 national budget, more than P5.9 billion is allocated for constructing, replacing, and completing kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school buildings; technical vocational laboratories; as well as water and sanitation facilities. — Sherylin Untalan/VBL, GMA News

Gatchalian: Let LGUs construct classrooms to address shortage
Source: Filipino Viral News PH