Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Tuesday underscored the importance of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in addressing infrastructure and learning gaps in the Philippines.

The education chief remarked on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum 2026 held at the Fairmont Hotel.

“This administration has clearly set very clear signals that they want to work in the private sector and that they need the private sector,” he said in a speech.

“And I think another change that President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos Jr. has initiated that we want human development and human infrastructure at the core of the PPPs, not just physical development, not just building structures.”

Under the PPP, the DepEd is set to construct more than 16,000 new classrooms in high-need areas in the Philippines.

Classroom construction will be done under the PPP’s School Infrastructure Program III (PSIP III) with a total project cost of PHP105.7 billion.

“Ang kagandahan kasi sa PPP, bulto-bulto na ‘yung build niya (What’s good about the PPP is that it constructs projects by bulk), hundreds if not thousands. You need a big type of solution to solve a big problem,” Angara said.

The Build-Lease-and-Transfer (BLT) modality allows private partners to finance and construct classrooms to ensure the timely delivery of the project. Payments will be sourced from the annual fund of the DepEd.

President Marcos issued Presidential Directive PBBM-2025-1355 on January 21, 2025, directing DepEd, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), and the PPP Center to establish a Green Lane for education PPPs.

The directive shortened approval, bidding, and review periods by an average of two months per project stage.

The ASEAN Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum 2026 served as a kick-off for the ASEAN 2026 business and investment initiatives under the Philippines’ Chairship.

The event brought together editors, economic opinion leaders, policymakers, and business leaders to align the Philippines’ trade and investment priorities with the country’s Priority Economic Deliverables for ASEAN 2026.

The forum is organized by the ASEAN Philippines 2026 Committee on Business and Investment Promotion led by the Department of Trade and Industry. (PNA)