By CESAR JOLITO III
All 19 city mayors from the Negros Island Region (NIR) formally joined President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara at Malacañang Palace on Monday, February 23, for the ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Nationwide Classroom Building Program.
The agreement cements a partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and city local government units (LGUs) aimed at accelerating the construction, rehabilitation and repair of public school classrooms nationwide.
DepEd-NIR Regional Director Ramir Uytico described the MOA signing as a unified commitment to strengthening education infrastructure and ensuring better learning environments for Filipino students, particularly in fast-growing urban areas.
Under the new framework, participating city governments will assume primary responsibility for procurement, construction and overall project management — an arrangement intended to shorten timelines and improve implementation efficiency.
DepEd, for its part, will focus on setting technical standards, monitoring compliance, and validating completed projects prior to final turnover and payment.
Uytico said cities were prioritized in the initial rollout of the program due to their administrative capacity and readiness to manage large-scale infrastructure projects.
Beyond the cities, interest from municipalities is also growing.
DepEd confirmed that 16 municipalities in Negros Occidental have already submitted letters of intent to participate in the program.
However, education officials emphasized that LGUs must meet eligibility requirements, chief among them the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
DepEd records show that three applicant municipalities — Toboso, Candoni and Moises Padilla — currently do not hold the SGLG.
Toboso Mayor Richard Jaojoco said his administration intends to appeal, citing the town’s existing Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping as proof of fiscal responsibility.
Meanwhile, Candoni Mayor Ray Ruiz said the municipal government is awaiting feedback from DepEd on its submitted letter of intent.
The Nationwide Classroom Building Program is a flagship initiative of the Marcos administration to address classroom shortages and improve the quality of public education by strengthening collaboration between national agencies and local governments./CJ, WDJ