The education sector’s seemingly endless dilemma on classroom shortage has finally been addressed. Education Secretary Armin Luistro announced that the remaining deficiency of 66,800 classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide has been resolved with the help of various sectors and agencies, among them the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

Sec. Luistro made the official announcement in the presence of President Benigno S. Aquino III during the simple ceremonial rites of this milestone at the Carmona National High School in Cavite last February 3, 2014. The Education Secretary added that apart from addressing its 2010 backlog, the DepEd was able to earmark funds for 13 more classrooms – bringing its total number of classrooms to 66,813 as of January 2014.

President Aquino lauded the Department of Education (DepEd) not only for addressing the classroom backlog but also for responding to the other concerns of the education sector. “Sunod-sunod na binura ng DepEd ang mga backlog na minana ng administrasyong ito. Tapos na ang ating kakulangan sa libro, silya, textbook at ngayon naman ang mga classroom,” he said.

Meanwhile, the DepEd Secretary was extremely grateful to President Aquino for his full support in uplifting the quality of education in the country. “Sa ilalim po ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Aquino, isa sa may pinaka-malaking budget increase ang education sector.”

Luistro added that in only three and a half years of the Aquino administration, they were able to build 300% more classrooms compared to the number of classrooms built from 2005 to 2010. “We have an Education President. I do not know any other President who was able to undertake something like this,” he said.

In his speech, Luistro cited that the classrooms were constructed using national and local government funds and donations from the private sector. Of the 66,813 classrooms, a total of 35,000 rooms were built using the national budget; 13,189 from local government funds; 14,886 came from local donations; 1,215 from foreign donations; and 2,242 from the Public-Private Partnerships for School Infrastructure project.

Luistro cited PAGCOR for its valuable help in addressing the concerns of DepEd. “Isa ang PAGCOR sa mga korporasyon na may pinaka-malaking donation sa ating proyekto. Ang Santa Claus ng DepEd na si PAGCOR Chairman Bong Naguiat ay patuloy pang kuma-kalap ng pondo,” hesaid.

According to PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat, Jr., the agency was able to allocate huge amount for the construction of thousands of classrooms in public schools through the agency’s judicious use of funds. “We have so far allocated a total of P5 billion for our school building project, coming from savings in PAGCOR’s operating expenses. Prayoridad namin na mapa-buti ang kalagayan ng mga mag-aaral sa mga pam-publikong paaralan. These classrooms will be PAGCOR’s legacy to the youth and to  generations to come,” Naguiat said.

Recently, PAGCOR formally turned over 16 newly-built classrooms to E.B. Magalona National High School in Negros Occidental. These classrooms were among the 629 classrooms in 112 sites that were built using the agency’s funds. They are also part of the 66,800 classroom shortage that had already been addressed.

According to the PAGCOR chief, the E.B. Magalona National High School was one of the public schools in Negros Occidental identified by the DepEd in dire need for new classrooms. “The school has one of the biggest student populations in the province. Luma na ang mga classroom nila at dahil hindi naman kalakihan ang mga kuwarto, overcrowded ang mga estudyante ‘pag nagka-klase,” he said.

Naguiat believes that the new classrooms can help ease the plight of the students. “The ultimate goal of our project is to provide school children with more decent learning facilities,” he said.

School Principal Romualdo Batallones is grateful that their school received new classrooms from PAGCOR. “From 60 students per classroom, we now accommodate 45 to 50 students in each room. We can now follow the DepEd standard classroom size of 45 students per classroom,” he said.

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