SONA 2026: Where does Marcos’ 40,000-classroom promise stand?

Composite image from INQUIRER FILES Last year, in his State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. drew loud applause as he pledged that his administration would add 40,000 classrooms before the end of his six-year term in 2028. The pledge came as the Philippines’ classroom shortage continued to burden the education system. The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), citing the Department of Education’s (DepEd) National School Building Inventory, said the current classroom backlog exceeds 166,000. Article continues after this advertisement The commission also warned that the shortage is likely to worsen in the coming years. By 2028, an estimated 51,222 classrooms will be at least 50 years old, making them candidates for condemnation or replacement. Research by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies also found that 70% of public school buildings require major repairs, retrofitting or condemnation. Some school buildings have become structurally unsafe after barely a decade because of construction defects or substandard materials. From July 2022 to July 2025, DepEd and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) completed a little more than 22,000 classrooms nationwide. However, Sen. Bam Aquino previously said legislation is needed to address the 166,000-classroom backlog. Not acceptable On Dec. 4 last year, Aquino said the DPWH’s completion of only 60 classrooms in 2025 was “simply unacceptable,” saying the agency’s mismanagement and prioritization of flood control projects contributed to the low number of completed classrooms. “To have accomplishments of 30, 40, or 60 a year is simply unacceptable,” he said. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Bam Aquino pushes bill to address classroom backlog Nearly two months earlier, the DPWH disclosed that it had completed only 22 classrooms out of its 1,700-classroom target for 2025. It said construction had begun on 822 classrooms, while work on the remaining 882 had yet to start. Article continues after this advertisement Aquino also raised concerns over what he described as the discrepancy in construction costs between government-funded classrooms and those built by the private sector. He said each DPWH-built classroom costs about P2.5 million, while nongovernment organizations can build classrooms for P1 million or less. He warned that it could take more than five presidencies to eliminate the classroom shortage “if we don’t act quickly and give it the proper attention,” noting that more classrooms are needed to accommodate all students. READ: Bam Aquino: Classroom shortage in PH could span 5 presidencies Based on EDCOM 2 data, many classrooms accommodate twice their intended capacity, leaving about 5.1 million students as “aisle learners” without proper seats. Some schools, including several public schools in Metro Manila, have resorted to double or triple shifts to accommodate the overflow. Disasters Beyond the existing backlog, EDCOM 2 said successive earthquakes have significantly widened the classroom deficit. In less than a year, 22,500 classrooms were damaged. The magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu last year damaged nearly 10,000 classrooms, with almost 90% of the damage concentrated in the Schools Division Offices of Cebu Province, Bogo City and Cebu City. Barely eight months later, the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck Sarangani on the opening day of School Year 2026-2027 on June 8 damaged 12,493 more classrooms across five regions and 39 school divisions. According to EDCOM 2, the earthquake, which struck at 7:37 a.m., affected 1,676 schools, disrupted learning for 266,001 students and affected 11,557 teaching and nonteaching personnel in Mindanao. READ: Mindanao quake exposes schools’ infrastructure risk — analyst Of the damaged classrooms, 2,631 were destroyed, 2,945 sustained major damage and 6,917 sustained minor damage. The estimated cost of repair and replacement exceeds P13 billion. EDCOM 2 also said that “fragmented planning and unresolved governance issues” continue to worsen the classroom shortage and aggravate classroom congestion. LGU assistance As of Thursday, July 23, DepEd said it had completed partnerships with all provinces to help address the classroom shortage. It said it had mobilized P49.8 billion of the P67.9-billion allocation for its 2026 school infrastructure program, which is expected to deliver an initial 14,601 new classrooms through various implementation channels. Based on DepEd data, P22.35 billion was allocated for projects with local government units (LGUs) to build 6,353 classrooms, while P20.85 billion was allocated to the DPWH for the construction of 6,134 classrooms. READ: DepEd completes partnerships with provinces to ease classroom shortage Another P3.5 billion was allocated for 1,622 DepEd Learning Continuity Spaces, while P3 billion was earmarked for projects involving nongovernment organizations and Last Mile Schools, covering 515 classrooms. Earlier this year, Marcos led the signing of a memorandum of agreement between DepEd and LGUs to fast-track classroom construction. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. “Today, we formalized the partnership between the DepEd and the different provinces around the country, and it is an effort to make sure that every Filipino student has a safe and decent classroom to learn in,” he said. “I have seen many of the struggles that our students, our teachers, and our parents face when having to send their children to school. They are studying and dreaming of a better future in poorly built facilities, cramped spaces, and sometimes no facilities at all,” Marcos said. /dm Visit our Sona 2026 live coverage to stay updated with the latest #SONA2026 news and stories.