₱86.5B, kailangan para makapagpatayo ng silid-aralan para sa susunod na taon

NANGANGAILANGAN ang Department of Education (DepEd) ng  ₱86.5 bilyong piso para sa pagtatayo ng mga silid-aralan para sa susunod na taon.

Bukod pa sa hindi pa nito natutugunan ang kakapusan ng silid-aralan.

“The ₱86.5 is actually not the overall shortage, this is just what we think should be implemented in 2023,” ayon kay DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla sa Senate basic education committee.

Inihayag pa rin ni Sevilla, sa ngayon, inaprubahan lamang ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ang  “₱5.9 billion–or 6% DepEd’s proposal–to be included in the National Expenditure Plan for next year. This is the plan that will be submitted to Congress for enactment.”

“Despite the instruction of the Department of Budget and Management to only include fifth- and sixth-class municipalities, what we submitted is the overall requirement that we can implement next year,” paliwanag ni Sevilla.

Sinabi naman no DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III na “all in all,” ang bansa ay kapos sa 91,000 silid-aralan

Sinulatan na aniya ni  Vice President at Education Secretary Sara Duterte ang  DBM, Ipinaliwanag na ang school building program ay hindi dapat kabilang sa mga proyektong  dinevelop ng local government units.

Ani pa ni Sevilla, “may backlog na ₱40 billion para sa pagkukumpuni ng mga silid-aralan na winasak ng kalamidad–₱16 billion ng nasabing halaga ay “most urgent” , para tugunan ang pinsalang dulot ng  Abra earthquake at mga bagyong Odette at Agaton.

Subalit ang inaprubahan lamang ng DBM ay ₱1.5 bilyong piso para sa classroom repairs.”

“That is the problem we will face in 2023,” ayon kay Sevilla sabay sabing “With this given budget, we have to just prioritize the fifth and sixth class municipalities for repair and new construction.”

“Kung may darating na bagong calamity or disaster wala po talaga kaming maibibigay na quick response fund,” ang babala ni Sevilla.

Gaya aniya ng sinabi ni  dating Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte,  “we are in a quicksand.” Ang kakulangan ng pondo ay makalilikha lamang ng karagdagang  classroom shortage “year in and year out.” (Daris Jose)