ILOILO – Local government units (LGUs) in Iloilo Province are ready to take on the construction of classrooms under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s directive to devolve the implementation of national school building funds to local governments — but smaller municipalities warn they may need additional personnel to avoid delays.
The assurance came from League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP)–Iloilo Chapter president Mayor Suzette Mamon of Badiangan, who said LGUs already have the structure in place to handle classroom projects funded by the national and provincial governments.
“Daw wala man problema kay ang kada banwa may ara na sila sang Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), coupled with an engineering division,” Mamon said.
However, she acknowledged that fourth- and fifth-class municipalities like Badiangan may need to strengthen their engineering offices and BACs, particularly if multiple projects are implemented simultaneously.
“Kon magdamo ang need kag damo man ang sulod nga pundo, ti siempre malagas ang procurement process. Ti, ang sa engineering side, sa monitoring parehas sa amon nga fourth-class municipality, pila man lang ka bilog ang personnel. Pero generally maka-implement kami,” she added.
Mamon cited as example the successful implementation of classrooms funded by the Iloilo provincial government under the Provincial School Board headed by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., noting that the projects were completed and properly liquidated.
“Okay gid kami. Galing amo lang na, ma-adjust kami or ma-add kami personnel,” she said.
Mamon added that full national funding is crucial, especially for lower-income municipalities whose Local School Board funds are limited.
“Pareho sa amon nga fourth-class municipality, amon Local School Board is just one percent of the real property tax. Tama kagamay,,” Mamon said, adding that most classrooms in Badiangan are funded by the provincial government.
Governor Defensor confirmed that funds for classroom construction will come from the Department of Education (DepEd) budget but admitted that implementation details are still being finalized by the national government.
“Amo ‘ni gusto sang Presidente, that the LGUs will now implement national funds for the construction of classroom. In principle it will be transferred to the province but as we speak ang mga detalye wala pa gid sia mahuman,” Defensor said.
He assured that the provincial government is capable of handling the task but acknowledged the need to expand its engineering department to prevent being overwhelmed.
Nationwide, the Marcos administration has allocated P9.6 billion for the construction of around 4,000 new classrooms as part of a broader P85.39-billion allocation for basic education facilities under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
Of the P9.6 billion first tranche, P4.1 billion will fund about 1,200 classrooms to be built by provincial governments, while more than P5 billion will finance around 2,800 prefabricated classrooms to be delivered by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Under the agreement, DepEd will set technical standards, provide classroom designs and funding, while LGUs will lead procurement and construction to speed up implementation and minimize delays.
President Marcos assured the public that the new arrangement would curb ghost projects and substandard classrooms.
“That would not be possible with the LGUs. That won’t work because you’re dealing with the people themselves,” the President said during the signing of the memorandum of agreement between DepEd and LGUs at Malacañang last week.
“If you don’t do your job well, people will call you out. They will knock on your door every day, every night and tell you to fix the problem,” he added.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara described the partnership as a decisive shift toward coordinated action to address the country’s classroom backlog./PN
