THE national government has allocated P3 billion to improve access to quality education in geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas (Gidcas) next year.
House of Representatives Assistant Minority Leader Christopher Sheen Gonzales said the funding will support the Last Mile Schools Program, which aims to ensure that children in remote and marginalized communities are not left behind in accessing public kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education. He noted that at least 41 barangays in his home province of Eastern Samar are classified as Gidcas.
Under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the P3 billion budget will cover infrastructure, facilities, and the hiring of teaching personnel for last-mile schools.
‘The package includes not just structures but also internet connectivity, technical-vocational laboratories, water and sanitation facilities, and solar power systems for off-grid schools, among others,’ Gonzales added.
He made the statement following President Marcos’ directive to decentralize the government’s school-building program.
‘We support the President’s decision to transfer school building funds to local governments,’ said Gonzales, a member of House Committees on Basic Education and on Appropriations.
‘In hard-to-reach barangays, it is indeed more practical for municipal governments to take the lead in constructing school facilities, with support from the Army’s engineering brigades,’ he added.
A former mayor of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, Gonzales said he has firsthand experience in addressing the educational needs of isolated communities such as Homonhon Island, which is accessible only by a two-and-a-half-hour motorized boat ride from the mainland.
Gonzales is also one of the principal authors of House Bill 4745, or the proposed Last Mile Schools Act.
The measure seeks to institutionalize and make permanent the Last Mile Schools Program, which the Department of Education (DepEd) launched in 2019.
The House approved the bill on third and final reading on October 13 and transmitted it to the Senate the following day.