By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino Infanta Mayor L.A. Ruanto presents the town’s Adopt-a-Classroom Program during a Senate hearing. (Infanta LG...
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| Infanta Mayor L.A. Ruanto presents the town’s Adopt-a-Classroom Program during a Senate hearing. (Infanta LGU) |
INFANTA, Quezon - A nationwide shortage of about 165,000 public school classrooms has left learners across the Philippines studying in overcrowded or makeshift structures. The backlog persists despite substantial national funding, as prolonged validation and implementation processes delay the construction of urgently needed facilities.
In Infanta, Quezon, Mayor Lord Arnel “L.A.” Ruanto showed senators footage of pupils using umbrellas inside temporary classrooms as rainwater entered through their roofs. Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV presided over a joint public hearing with the Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday, July 23, where Ruanto reported that the town uses 74 makeshift rooms and lacks more than 100 permanent classrooms.
Similar conditions can disrupt classes, weaken academic performance and place additional pressure on families, teachers and local governments. Ruanto said the nationwide crisis requires a faster construction system that allows capable municipalities to respond directly to urgent school needs.
The July 23 proceedings examined classroom construction delays and the possible use of public-private partnerships under Senate Resolution 252. Lawmakers also reviewed the implementation status of government-funded school and classroom projects across the country.
Photographs and videos presented during the hearing showed crowded temporary rooms with walls and roofs made from galvanized iron sheets. Several structures provide little protection from heavy rain and trap heat during periods of dangerously high temperatures.
Ruanto said he had visited the affected classrooms five times and repeatedly heard pupils ask when their rooms would be repaired. Their questions were painful, he added, because the municipal government lacked sufficient resources to replace every temporary structure.
“It really breaks my heart dahil alam kong may pondo,” Ruanto said. “We’ve exhausted our resources; hindi naman walang ginagawa ang local government, but we have a very limited budget.”
Conditions worsened after Infanta recorded a heat index of 49 degrees Celsius on July 16, making the metal-walled rooms especially uncomfortable. Ruanto also suspended classes a day before the hearing after a power outage left crowded classrooms without electricity and proper ventilation.
The unsuitable environment reduces the time and attention available for classroom instruction, according to the mayor. He linked the difficult conditions to poor performance in the National Achievement Test and the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment.
Infanta previously secured ₱3 million from the corporate social responsibility program of an energy company, which Ruanto did not identify during his presentation. Through construction by administration, the municipal government built a new 63-square-meter classroom and repaired five others, including their roofs.
“Tatlong milyong piso lang po ito, pero nagawa through construction by administration ng local government,” Ruanto said. “Posible po naman pala at kaya naman po pala natin, dahil hindi dapat paghintayin ang mga bata sa ganoong sitwasyon.”
Ruanto also issued an executive order establishing the Adopt-a-Classroom Program to mobilize additional support for damaged school facilities. Municipal departments and national agencies in Infanta, including the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police and Commission on Elections, may adopt classrooms and help repair toilets, roofs and other facilities.
The mayor proposed transferring national classroom funds directly to qualified LGUs through a mechanism similar to the Local Government Support Fund. He said municipalities can closely supervise projects while remaining directly accountable to residents for construction quality and completion.
Ruanto also backed the proposed Classroom-Building Acceleration Program Act, which would authorize qualified LGUs and private organizations to construct classrooms using national funds. He said Infanta’s project validation process alone took nearly seven months before funding could move forward.
Education received ₱1.345 trillion under the 2026 national budget, including ₱1.015 trillion for the Department of Education and about ₱67.9 billion for classroom construction. National authorities aim to build or begin work on at least 25,000 classrooms during the year.
Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Lara Marisse Esquibil told the committee that the agency aimed to complete 5,000 classrooms within the year using allocations from 2025 and previous years. DepEd assured lawmakers that projects would proceed in most participating LGUs in 2026, but no specific funding release or construction schedule for Infanta was announced.
Without a definite national timetable, Infanta continues to depend on temporary structures and locally financed repairs while waiting for permanent classrooms. Ruanto said direct funding could help municipalities convert approved budgets into completed facilities more quickly while making local leaders responsible for delivering the projects.
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