MANILA — Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said Tuesday that he will coordinate with Education Secretary Sonny Angara to prioritize completing unfinished classroom projects nationwide.
Dizon made the statement after inspecting a two-storey classroom building at Revilla High School and a three-storey building at Aniban Central School, both in Bacoor, Cavite. He said construction of the buildings started in 2024 but stalled last year.
“I will talk to Education Secretary Angara so we can prioritize the unfinished classrooms instead of funding new ones. Let’s fund the completion of unfinished classrooms nationwide,” Dizon said in Filipino.
Dizon said agencies must avoid neglecting incomplete structures while starting new projects. He added that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) should create an inventory of unfinished classrooms and allocate funds to complete them.
“There are a lot of [unfinished classrooms] all over the country. We do inventory, that’s a priority, and fund them instead of starting a new one,” he said.
Dizon said the Bacoor classroom projects require about P50 million to complete and may finish within the year. He added that Angara committed to provide the funding needed for the projects.
DepEd earlier acknowledged delays in classroom construction and cited DPWH’s heavy workload, late validation, costing submissions, and leadership changes as contributing factors.
The agency recently signed a memorandum of agreement with local government units to accelerate the construction and repair of public school classrooms under the 2026 national budget.