A huge chunk, or about 106,000, of the government’s 165,000-classroom backlog will be built in phases through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP).

PSIP is a project implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd), in which classrooms are constructed through a PPP framework. The administration of former president Benigno Aquino III implemented PSIP Phases I and II.

Under the current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the 106,000 classrooms will be under PSIP Phases III to V, which will be implemented from 2026 to 2031.

In a Senate basic education committee hearing on Monday, February 9, DepEd presented the target scope of PSIP Phases III to V:

• PSIP III – around 16,000 classrooms in Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, and the Cordillera Administrative Region
• PSIP IV – around 40,000 classrooms in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Negros Island Region, and select regions in Luzon
• PSIP V – around 50,000 classrooms in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, BARMM, and sites not covered by PSIP III and IV

DepEd said the implementation of the phases will be sequential, meaning Phase IV will only start once Phase III has been completed, and Phase V will begin after the completion of Phase IV.

The committee chairman, Senator Bam Aquino, raised concern over the sequential approach, noting that PSIP III sites are all in Luzon.

“I’m just not comfortable with that because the children in these areas [Visayas and Mindanao] are also in need… Luzon is bigger but in particular areas, the needs of these areas are also quite grave,” Aquino said.

“‘Yun lang ang concern ko na (My concern is) rather than having it spread out at the same time, we’re limiting it to areas. Hindi ba parang hindi naman ‘yan fair para sa mga VisMin natin na mga kababayan (Isn’t that unfair for our fellow Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao)?” he added.

Responding to Aquino, DepEd Undersecretary Ronald Mendoza said they are looking into constructing classrooms nationwide under PSIP IV.

“In consultation with the economic team, we are preparing for a possible pivot of PSIP IV to include Mindanao na kaagad diyan (already). So, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao [under PSIP IV]. The reason why we started with Luzon is because Luzon has the biggest decongestion challenges and classroom deficits,” Mendoza said.

For now, the DepEd will implement PSIP III. Here’s what to expect.

Classroom package inclusion

In January this year, the Economy and Development Council, led by the president, approved the P105.7-billion PSIP III.

The DepEd is set to conduct the bidding process in March with the contract signing eyed in August. The construction will begin in March 2027 and is anticipated to be completed a year after.

Under the PPP, the DepEd set a classroom package inclusion:

• disaster- and climate-resilient classrooms
• individual learners’ tables and chairs
• teachers’ tables and chairs
• accessibility features
• one toilet for every 40 learners
• sufficient air ventilation

“Sa conventional [procurement] kasi (In the conventional procurement), we’re procuring separately the classrooms, the furniture. But this one, we’re packaging them all together,” said DepEd Technical Assistant Ramil Chua.

Low, medium-rise buildings

For PSIP III, the construction will be focused on sites in dense urban areas, the DepEd said.

Low- and medium-rise buildings will be built to accommodate more students, especially in urban areas where space is limited, to decongest classrooms.

A low-rise building has up to four stories, while a medium-rise building has five to 13 stories. During PSIP I and II, the school buildings constructed had only up to two stories.

“Since we have [a] lack of buildable space, especially here in Metro Manila, we’re also now exploring to construct medium-rise buildings for us to really maximize all the lots that we have available here sa mga (in) highly-populated areas,” Chua said.

Medium-rise school buildings, Chua said, will be provided with faculty rooms and other non-instructional rooms, a covered multi-purpose area, common areas, and wider corridors.

He assured that while the concentration is in urban areas, last mile schools — or those in geographically isolated areas — will not be neglected.

Based on the report of the 2nd Congressional Commission on Education, more than 2,000 schools are holding double or triple shifts to accommodate students because of the classroom shortage.

Transparency

Chua said they are increasing transparency under PSIP III through Project Bukas, DepEd’s open data initiative in which data on education can be accessed by the public.

The DepEd technical assistant said the sites that are being eyed for classroom construction under PSIP III can be found in Project Bukas.

“Some of the data that the private sector would also need for them to assess the different sites that we’re targeting, they can also access it there,” he said.

The public has been demanding transparency in government projects, especially after a scandal on infrastructure projects involving public officials and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Other modalities

Aside from PPP, the remaining classroom backlog may be built by the DPWH and local governments.

Under Republic Act 7880 or the Fair and Equitable Access to Education Act of 1995, the DPWH has the sole authority to construct classrooms.

“The appropriation herein provided for the construction, rehabilitation, replacement completion and repair of school buildings shall be directly released to and administered by the Department of Public Works and Highways,” the law stated.

DepEd previously said it was meant to “depoliticize and ensure equitable allocation of school building funds.”

But because of DPWH’s delay in building classrooms, a provision in the 2026 General Appropriations Act allowed local governments to take part in the construction.

Classroom leasing

Meanwhile, in a bid to hasten classroom decongestion, the DepEd operationalized its classroom leasing initiative for the first time.

Its first leased facility is in Pila, Laguna. The agency refurbished and repurposed it before opening it to students on Monday.

The leased facility serves as the annex of Don Manuel Rivera Memorial Integrated National High School.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara stressed that new classroom construction will not be set aside amid the leasing initiative. – Rappler.com