The Department of Education (DepEd) welcomed Senator Bam Aquino’s proposed Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, saying it would help address the backlog of 166,000 classrooms in public schools nationwide.
“We really look forward to the passage of that bill. It’s a breath of fresh air because seeing how over the last decade the classroom deficit has increased year on year,” Secretary Sonny Angara said of Aquino’s Senate Bill No. 121 during the agency’s budget hearing.
“It is really creative. It’s empowering.”
“Your bill is thinking out of the box. It is really creative. It’s empowering,” Angara added.
The veteran legislator’s Senate Bill No. 121 aims to authorize local government units and non-government organizations (NGOs) with a proven track record to build classrooms in compliance with national standards and guidelines within their jurisdictions, with funding support from the national government.
“If we finish it by December, then the classroom acceleration program can be added as an item in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) for 2026.”
The seasoned lawmaker said the committee report on the CAP Act will be referred to the plenary in the coming weeks and expressed confidence it could hurdle the Senate by December.
“If we finish it by December, then the classroom acceleration program can be added as an item in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) for 2026,” said the chairperson of the Committee on Basic Education and vice chairperson of the Committee on Finance.
“If we don’t, we will put in a special provision, which basically is the program. Put it into the GAA so we can undergo the program,” the senator added, expressing confidence that if given the assistance, the local government units and NGOs can deliver the needed classrooms.
Aquino also assured Angara that under the measure, DepEd would be provided with the necessary manpower to check and monitor the projects undertaken by LGUs and NGOs.
