Senator Bam Aquino, chairperson of the Senate committee on basic education, on Thursday sought support from the local chief executives in Negros Occidental in fast-tracking the construction of additional classrooms starting this year.

Aquino made the call in a dialogue with the mayors on the national government’s classroom-building acceleration program held at the Bago City Community Center, led by host Mayor Marina Javellana-Yao and Victorias City Mayor Abelardo Bantug III.

“Kami po we’re fully committed to this. Binabantayan po namin siya. We’re requesting for your support,” the senator said.

On Wednesday, Aquino witnessed the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Department of Education (DepEd) and local government leagues, including the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines as well as the League of Provinces of the Philippines, to accelerate classroom construction.

The MOA formalized a nationwide framework to fast-track the delivery of school infrastructure, marking a decisive shift toward coordinated action to address the backlog of about 165,000 classrooms.

During the MOA signing at Malacañan Palace, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced the allocation of about PHP9.6 billion for the construction of 4,000 classrooms nationwide.

Aquino said the support of the local chief executives is crucial in accomplishing the goal of addressing the classroom backlog.

“We want to see this accomplished, and we need your help. Mabubuo lang po natin ito kung sabay-sabay tayo,” he told the Negrense mayors.

“Our role is to make sure this (allocation) is fully downloaded by the end of March para makapagsimula na po kayo before June, before the rainy season, and matapos po natin ‘yan hopefully within a year’s time.” (PNA)