CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga(PIA) — Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary for School Infrastructure and Facilities Epimaco V. Densing III promised to allocate bigger funding to the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) for the construction of school buildings.
Densing cited a high number of Cordilleran pupils forced to learn in makeshift classrooms and open spaces, a long-standing issue not only in the region but nationwide that the DepEd seeks to address with the creation of the School Infrastructure and Facilities strand, which he heads.
“There are a lot of learners from CAR who are talented, skilled, intelligent but they lack the resources for them to be properly trained. This is why this is something that we have to address,” Densing said during the 10th founding anniversary celebration of the Tabuk City Schools Division on July 4.
“That’s why when we do the 2025 budget, to which we were given a P15 billion budget, hopefully a big chunk of it will be given to your region because you really have the lack of facilities,” he said.
The official is committed to addressing the shortage of school buildings and facilities nationwide with more efficient implementation of the school infrastructure program.
“I am very glad right now that the School Building Program for the last two years, nararamdaman na po ng ating mga kababayan. In fact, of the 165,000 shortage at the start of the administration of Vice President Sara Duterte, as of today, it is now down to 152, 200. [That’s] 12,800 classrooms in one and a half years,” Densing said.
He stressed the importance of good infrastructure for students to maximize their learning potential.
“It’s very basic. No matter how good your curriculum is, no matter how excellent your teachers are, no matter how protected your learners are, if they are being taught outside of a normal classroom, they will not be able to maximize learning,” he said.
While in Kalinga, Densing visited the ongoing construction of a four-story school building at the Bulanao Central School and the recently completed Last Mile School building of Cataw Elementary School.
The Tabuk City Schools Division was given over P160 million in 2023 and more than P50 million in 2024 for the construction of school buildings and last mile schools, and to fund school repairs. (IOS-PIA Kalinga)
