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Addressing classroom shortage: Sen. Win Gatchalian stresses on Monday, November 14, 2022 the need to consistently fund the construction of classrooms in the Philippines. Interpellating during the deliberation on the proposed P678.1-billion 2023 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd), the chairman of the Committee on Basic Education raised the "challenge" brought about by the rise of student population, particularly the growing shortage in classrooms in public schools. Gatchalian estimated that a "staggering" amount of P420 billion would be needed to address the backlog of at least 167,000 classrooms. Besides looking for fund sources, another problem is the absorptive capacity or the ability of the agency to use the budget provided for building the classrooms, the senator said. "It's a challenge to this body and also a responsibility of this body to help look for that P420 billion over the years...It's important to bear that in mind, so that every time we craft the budget, we can help divert and allocate some amount to help close the gap of 167,000 classrooms that our students require," Gatchalian told his colleagues. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)