The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines, through Chairperson Ruby Bernardo, has called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to immediately demolish abandoned and condemned school buildings following a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southern Mindanao. The group warns that these structures pose grave threats to the safety of teachers, education support personnel, and learners.
Call for Nationwide Assessment
ACT urges DepEd to conduct a comprehensive nationwide assessment of all school infrastructure to identify buildings requiring urgent repair, retrofitting, strengthening, reconstruction, or replacement. The aim is to implement decisive measures that will reduce disaster risks in schools.
Earthquake Damage Report
According to DepEd's latest report, the earthquake damaged 1,405 classrooms and facilities in 267 schools across five regions. This includes 199 totally damaged classrooms, 296 with major damage, 896 with minor damage, and 14 damaged water, sanitation, and hygiene (Wash) facilities. Bernardo emphasized that these figures expose the alarming fragility of school infrastructure and highlight how vulnerable thousands of schools remain to disasters.
“The destruction witnessed in Mindanao should serve as a wake-up call. When a single earthquake can render more than 1,400 classrooms and facilities unsafe, it becomes painfully clear that many schools are one disaster away from catastrophe,” Bernardo said.
Infrastructure Backlog
Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education’s National Education Plan shows that 51,222 classrooms are already 50 years old or older and are due for condemnation by 2028. Additionally, 2,335 classrooms have been totally damaged by typhoons, earthquakes, and other calamities in past years. These figures reveal not only the massive infrastructure backlog confronting Philippine education but also the continuing exposure of millions of learners and school personnel to unsafe conditions.
Quality and Integrity Concerns
Beyond aging infrastructure and recurring disasters, serious questions have been raised about the quality and integrity of school construction projects. DepEd itself has flagged more than a thousand Department of Public Works and Highways-built school buildings that were reported as “turned over” but remain unfinished, unusable, or non-operational.
“This is deeply alarming. At a time when public schools are suffering from severe classroom shortages, the existence of unfinished and unusable school buildings points to systemic failures in planning, implementation, and accountability. Corruption and negligence in school infrastructure projects deprive students of safe classrooms, expose teachers and learners to danger, and squander public funds that should be strengthening the education system,” Bernardo emphasized.
Expanded Audit and Funding
ACT urges DepEd and other concerned agencies to expand their infrastructure audit and identify school buildings that may have been constructed below safety standards or compromised by corruption but continue to be occupied. The group reiterates its call for immediate allocation of adequate funds for repair, retrofitting, reconstruction, and replacement of damaged and aging school buildings nationwide.
ACT also calls on the Marcos Jr. administration to realign billions in presidential pork, confidential and intelligence funds, and allocations for hosting the Asean Summit toward urgently needed education funding. Additionally, they demand the provision of psychosocial services to earthquake victims and communities, and the expansion of disaster risk reduction and management training for school personnel and learners.
Education Crisis
As the new school year formally opens, the same deplorable learning and working conditions continue to confront teachers and students. The earthquake has once again exposed how years of chronic underfunding have left schools vulnerable to disasters and unable to provide safe, resilient learning environments.
ACT calls on the Marcos Jr. administration to decisively address the education crisis by substantially increasing public investment in education, including raising education spending to at least six percent of GDP, in line with international benchmarks. They also renew their demand for a P50,000 entry-level salary for teachers and P36,000 basic pay for education support personnel to uplift their living conditions and strengthen the delivery of quality education.
