ILOILO CITY — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed the construction of 381 school buildings equivalent to 851 classrooms, as classes opened on Monday.
The classrooms were funded under the 2017 Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEEF) of the DPWH together with the Department of Education (DepEd) amounting to PHP 1.189 billion.
Engr. Al Fruto, DPWH Assistant Regional Director for Western Visayas, said the projects were fast tracked to be completed in time for the opening of classes.
“With these additional school buildings, our government will be able to address the need for more classrooms, considering the increasing number of enrollees both in elementary and secondary as well as the senior high schools students,” he stated.
The projects are intended for elementary and secondary schools, as well as workshop/laboratory buildings for senior high schools.
“This will help our students especially those in the far-flung areas. They will have comfortable and spacious classrooms with better ambiance for studying. DPWH will continue to support the program of our government to address the shortage of educational facilities,” said DPWH 6 information officer, Vivian Tan.
Meanwhile, DPWH data revealed that 503 of the 618 school building projects funded under the 2016 BEEF are already completed, 105 are still ongoing, while eight are yet to be started.
The 2016 BEEF has a total budget of PHP7.445 billion. (Perla Lena with Caihra Santillan and Rosilfa Mallada WVSU-OJT/PNA)
