Catigbian, Bohol Mayor Benjie Oliva was invited as a resource person before the Senate Committee on Basic Education on Thursday, where he shared his town’s experience in addressing classroom shortages and pursuing school infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships.
The hearing was held at 10 a.m. on July 23, 2026 at the Sen. Pecson Room of the Senate in Pasay City, presided over by Sen. Bam Aquino.
Oliva said it was an honor for him to be invited to the hearing, where he presented Catigbian’s experience in implementing classroom and school building projects.
He said the invitation gave him the opportunity to contribute to the Senate discussion, noting he was chosen as one of the resource persons among the country’s 1,493 municipal mayors.
Among the matters taken up by the panel was Senate Resolution No. 252, filed by Aquino, which seeks an inquiry in aid of legislation into the use of public-private partnerships as a strategy to address classroom congestion nationwide.
The committee also reviewed the status of classroom and school building projects funded under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
During the hearing, Oliva offered a local government perspective on the challenges faced by municipalities in addressing the classroom shortage, including recommendations on partnering with stakeholders to speed up the construction of additional school facilities.
Nationwide Problem
The hearing comes as the country continues to grapple with a severe classroom deficit.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) has warned that the classroom crisis is no longer simply a matter of building more classrooms, urging DepEd to prioritize construction in the most severely congested schools while keeping pace with aging infrastructure and disasters.
EDCOM 2 noted that recent earthquakes — including one in Cebu in October 2025 and another in Sarangani at the opening of School Year 2026-2027 — damaged more than 22,500 classrooms in less than a year, further widening the shortage.
DepEd has estimated the nationwide classroom shortage at around 144,000, and has enlisted local government units nationwide to help address the backlog.
EDCOM 2 has separately cautioned that the shortage, pegged at 165,443 classrooms, could worsen as about 51,000 aging classrooms are projected to be condemned by 2028.
Citing DepEd data, the commission said that of the country’s 329,716 school buildings, roughly 122,518 classrooms have already exceeded their standard 25-year design life.
To address the problem, EDCOM 2 has recommended diversifying construction methods beyond the traditional procurement process of the Department of Public Works and Highways, including tapping LGUs and expanding public-private partnerships — the same approach the Catigbian Mayor presented to senators.
The shortage has also been linked to broader learning outcomes.
The World Bank reported in 2024 that the Philippines had a 91% “learning poverty” rate, meaning nine out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 are unable to read and understand a simple, age-appropriate text.