EDCOM 2: Uncoordinated housing projects aggravate classroom congestion

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) flagged the need for urgent coordination between the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to address worsening classroom congestion caused by unplanned housing developments.

Government resettlement projects, without planning for schools

During a meeting held on June 18, 2025, EDCOM 2 presented data pointing to 58 housing projects of the National Housing Authority (NHA) in the past ten years, totaling 167,120 housing units, but without clear coordination as to whether there are schools available for relocated families.

"Ilan po dito sa 58 housing projects ng NHA ang nasiguro nating may paaralan na pupuntahan ang mga lilipat?" asked EDCOM Executive Director, Dr. Karol Mark Yee. "Assuming that each household would have 2 children, this is around 334,240 students, equivalent to more than 8,000 classrooms needed. Without proper coordination with DepEd, this would add to the long list of 165,000 backlogs we are already experiencing."

Data submitted by the DHSUD showed that most of their housing projects were in NCR and Region 4A, particularly in Rizal and Cavite-- which DepEd data shows are among the most congested in the country already.

EDCOM 2 noted during its site visit to Naic, Cavite that in Calubcob Elementary School for example, which serves a government resettlement project in the same baranggay, 1,800 students are made to fit into only two standard-sized classrooms and six makeshift ones.

Optional requirement to ensure school facilities for low-cost housing

Another key issue flagged is that while BP 220 provides for the inclusion of schools in developments with 1,500 or more housing units, the language in the law makes this provision optional rather than mandatory.

EDCOM has also found that although individual settlements may fall below this threshold, multiple adjacent housing areas collectively house a large population, yet no schools have been established to serve them.

"So we have the BP 220 as standards, but we need to revisit these standards," said Dir. Maria Amoroso, DHSUD Director for Public Housing and Settlements Service. "It does not state in our standards that it is mandatory. With 1,500 units, it's optional under our guidelines. So for the private sector, wala 'ring nagcocomply kasi optional siya. So we need to revisit our BP 220 din po talaga," she added.

No system to coordinate between DHUSD, DepEd and DILG

Discussions also highlighted that, in the absence of a policy implementing school construction for housing projects, the parameters for building them are unclear. DHUSD cited that without guidance from DepEd, they have been unsure as to how to estimate school building requirements versus number of housing units constructed.

"We hope that DHUSD appreciates that 'human settlements' as defined in the law means that we need to ensure that educational facilities are present in the areas where these housing projects are built," said Executive Director Yee.

"Hindi po pwedeng tayo lang tayo nang tayo ng mga pabahay, tapos yung classroom requirements ipipila sa mahabang list ng backlog na kailangan problemahin later on ng DepEd. There must be solutions, even just within the public settlement projects, for these issues to be prevented before you lose a generation of illiterate students because of our inability to coordinate," he said.

Yee urged the three agencies to set up and implement coordination mechanisms urgently in order to address congestion in schools brought about by poorly planned housing projects.

Dir. Anna Liza Bonagua, from DILG's Bureau of Local Government Development, stressed that local government units are typically brought into the process only once relocation is already underway and families have started moving in, rather than during the initial planning stages.

"Dapat engagement at the national level between DepEd and DILG, and then sa lower level between the Local Government Units. Kasi yung construction of the resettlement areas comes before or 3 or 5 years earlier than the actual relocation, and the Local Interagency Council is only activated when the relocation is already happening."

"If DepEd is the one to construct the schools, they need to know in advance, because they need to worry about and request for their budget, and then after this, also for procurement of furniture, and request of plantilla positions for the teachers", Yee said. "Hindi po pwedeng pag nandyan na yung mga bata, only then we will start requesting for these."

Further compounding the issue is the revocation of DILG Memorandum Circular (MC) 2020-160, which previously outlined the responsibilities of sending and receiving local governments in coordinating relocation and service provision. EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee inquired what policies now govern LGU coordination in the absence of DILG MC 2020-160.

"According to DHUSD, the basis is the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160) but may we ask what implementing guidelines operationalize the generic provision in the law to actually guide LGUs? . That might be a policy gap that needs to be resolved, whether in the issuance of a clarification of what are the probable or promulgated guidelines now based on the previous practice or a new IRR or new implementing guideline," Yee said.

DHSUD committed that they will be signing an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DepEd next week in response to the EDCOM recommendations, and that in the coming months, will work on a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) to include DILG to flesh out the coordination mechanisms between the three agencies related to this.

EDCOM 2 also recommended that the DHSUD include DepEd in the Technical Working Group established by the DHSUD Department Order No. 2024-020 to review BP 220, and ensure access to education services and adherence to DepEd's school site planning guidelines are considered. The Commission also reiterated its call for the DHSUD and DILG to ensure that local housing boards include or consult DepEd.

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