Bam Aquino wanted to focus on resolving this education issue
Senator Bam Aquino laid out the major reforms he wanted to push forward on his return as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
This is to address the country’s education crisis, including the shortage of 166,000 classrooms.
At the same time, Aquino called on the government to expedite the release of funds for the repair of classrooms in areas devastated by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao, based on the report from Bandera.
This includes schools in SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City) and Davao Region.
“Ayon sa DepEd, mahigit 1,000 classrooms ang nasira ng lindol sa Mindanao. Dapat bilisan ang paglalabas ng pondo upang maisaayos ang mga ito sa lalong madaling panahon,” Sen. Bam Aquino said.
One of the senator’s top priorities will be to investigate the slow implementation of the P67 billion allocation that is part of the 2026 national budget for the construction of 25,000 classrooms.
As of this writing, the construction of classrooms in various schools has not yet begun, especially since the rainy season has already started.
“Tututukan natin iyong krisis sa edukasyon. Unang-una, iimbestigahan natin ang P67 billion na nakalaan para sa classrooms,” the lawmaker said.
He also stressed that the deployment of this project has been very slow, and he wanted to make it fast as the rainy season is approaching.
Aquino added that he will be urging the reform of the nutrition program in schools, because it is important for the children to have healthy food intake. Through this, the lawmaker said that it will be ensured that Kindergarten to Grade 3 students will have their nutritious meals.
Some of the senator’s other priority reforms include the enactment of the School Safety Act “to combat bullying” and the School-to-Employment Program “to help ensure that K-to-12 graduates can secure jobs after completing their studies.”
“Napakarami pa pong kailangang tugunan at sana po magkaisa tayo para tugunan ang mga problemang ito, mabigyan ng tutok natin ang mga problema ng kabataan at ng kinabukasan ng ating bansa,” Sen. Bam Aquino stressed.
He is also pushing for the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA)-Blockchain the Budget Bill, “which seeks to improve transparency and accountability in government spending.”
Aquino wanted to address the still rampant corruption, and, for him, it is important to “blockchain” the budget so that the public will know where the funds are going.