Angara Rallies Nation to End Classroom Shortage: ‘No Child Left Behind’

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

MAKATI CITY, 14 August 2025 — In a decisive move to accelerate the fight against the country’s decades-old classroom backlog, Education Secretary Sonny Angara has sounded a clarion call for a united front — mobilizing national agencies, local government units (LGUs), private enterprises, and civic organizations — to ensure every Filipino child has a place to learn, no matter how remote or disaster-prone their community may be.

The effort stems from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to close the classroom gap with urgency. For Angara, the mission is clear: build faster, build smarter, and open the doors for more hands to help.

“Kung gusto nating walang batang maiiwan, kailangan kumilos tayong lahat — mula national hanggang lokal, mula gobyerno hanggang pribadong sektor,” Angara stressed. “Sama-sama nating dapat tiyakin na may silid-aralan ang bawat bata, kahit nasa bundok, isla, o baybayin na binabaha.”

Breaking the Bottleneck

Under the current set-up, the Department of Education (DepEd) identifies the classroom needs, designs the structures, and sets the safety standards, while the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) handles the funds, procurement, and construction. While effective in many cases, this process can slow to a crawl when the DPWH is pulled into disaster response or other urgent infrastructure priorities.

In the proposed 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), DepEd has secured a Special Provision on flexibility, allowing the department to tap LGUs, private sector partners, and non-government organizations as additional “implementing actors” in the School Building Program. The aim is to ensure that funds and skilled builders meet in the right place, at the right time — even in the country’s most challenging terrains.

Angara credited the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for backing this flexibility, noting that LGUs can utilize their Special Education Fund (SEF) and private partners can engage through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and the Adopt-a-School Program.

“Kung saan may pondo, dapat may marunong at mabilis na tagapagpatayo,” he emphasized.

Smarter, Resilient Classrooms

Angara underscored that solving the shortage is more than a numbers game — it’s about strategic, data-driven planning. DepEd’s classroom master plan now integrates demographic trends, school-level data, and site-specific assessments to pinpoint urgent needs.

In disaster-prone regions, DepEd is shifting towards resilient architecture:

Flood-resilient designs with open ground floors for multipurpose use and elevated upper levels for uninterrupted learning.

Stilted classrooms in coastal areas like the Bicol Region, reinforced with waterproofed concrete roofs to endure typhoons.

Structures adapted to withstand extreme winds, storm surges, and seasonal flooding.

The Classroom Building Acceleration Program

DepEd has also thrown its weight behind Senate Bill No. 121, the proposed Classroom Building Acceleration Program (CAP), which calls for:

A nationally anchored master plan

Clearly defined roles for agencies, LGUs, and private partners

Priority for high-need areas

Centralized monitoring of all school-building efforts

To support this, DepEd is consolidating all LGU-led and PPP-backed projects into a central database, ensuring transparency and efficiency in tracking progress nationwide.

A Call to National Unity

For Angara, the classroom crisis is not just a government problem — it’s a national challenge that demands collective ownership. “Kailangan nating buksan ang pinto para makasali ang LGU, NGO, at iba pang handang tumulong,” he urged.

With the 2026 budget now designed to encourage multi-sector participation, the hope is that the country can finally break the cycle of shortage and delay.

In the vision laid out by the DepEd chief, a child in a mountain village in Kalinga, an island in Palawan, or a floodplain in Pampanga should no longer have to study under the shade of a tree or in a makeshift shack. Instead, they will walk into a safe, sturdy classroom — a space where dreams are built and futures are secured.

If the plan succeeds, the Philippines will move closer to fulfilling a long-delayed promise: that in the classroom of the nation’s future, no child is left standing outside the door.

If you want, I can also create a more hard-hitting, investigative-style version of this piece that digs into the historical backlog numbers and the possible risks to Angara’s plan. That would make it even more compelling for an online journalism audience.

𝐊𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐃. 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐨, 𝐈𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐚 𝐊𝐖𝐅 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐚ó𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Itinanghal si Klara D. Espedido na KWF Mananaysay ng Taón 2025 pára sa kaniyang sanaysay na “Ang Metanaratibo ng Paglabag Bílang Saligang Paretyeya at Penahrang sa Preserbasyon ng mga Wikang Katutubo: Pahiwatig ng mga Alamat mulâ sa Bersiyong Saliling ng Bendingang Kepu’unpu’un” Makatatanggap siyá ng PHP30,000.00 at karangalang maging “Mananaysay ng Taón,” medalya, at plake.

Nagwagî din si Emersan D. Baldemor ng ikalawang gantimpala pára sa kaniyang sanaysay na “Amba, Di Ak Kalimdan: Panitikang Orál Bílang Daluyan ng Alaala, Laban, at Pagbabanyuhay ng Wika.” Makatatanggap siyá ng PHP20,000.00 at plake.

Hinirang naman si Precioso M. Dahe Jr. sa ikatlong gantimpala pára sa kaniyang sanaysay na “Sa Píling ng Pig-Aláran, Kuláman, at Ábyan, Sa bisyón ng mga Apù ng Piglamítan: Ang lagëng ng Kakahúyan, Míto, at ang Etnomusikolohíya ng Orál na Panitíkan laban sa Hámong Eremitísmo sa mga Katutúbong Wikà sa Pilipínas.” Makatatanggap siyá ng PHP15,000.00 at plake.

May karangalan naman sina Brian Harold M. Comeling para sa kaniyang sanaysay na “Hinabing Sálinlahì, Ílo ng Katutubò: Sosyal Midya at Teknolohiya Bílang Mákináng Habihán sa Kolaboratibong Preserbasyon at ang Panibagong Yugtong Oralidad ng Panitikang Katutubò sa Siglo ng Dihital” at Robert A. Andres para sa kaniyang sanaysay na “Ang Tínig na Hindi Nawawalâ: Panitikang Orál Bílang Dalúyan ng Pagpapasiglá ng mga Wíkang Katutubò.”

Ang Gawad KWF sa Sanaysay ay taunang gawad ng KWF para sa pinakamahusay na sanaysay hinggil sa mga pilî at napapanahong tema. Sa pamamagitan ng timpalak na ito, naitatanghal ang Filipino bílang wika ng saliksik.

Ang mga nagwagi ay gagawaran sa KWF Gabi ng Parangal sa 19 Agosto 2025. Hinihiling sa madla na sumubaysay sa KWF FB page hinggil sa lugar at iba pang detalye ng nasabing gawad.

Mercury-Laced Skin Whitening Creams Still Thrive in Baclaran — Health at Stake Amid Lax Enforcement

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Pasay City — Beneath the bustling stalls and crowded alleys of Baclaran, a silent poison is being peddled in small jars and shiny boxes — cosmetics laced with dangerous amounts of mercury. Despite a nationwide ban more than a decade old, these skin-lightening products (SLPs) remain openly available in beauty shops, their pastel packaging hiding a toxic reality that could scar lives forever.

Toxics watchdog BAN Toxics sounded the alarm once again, issuing a public health warning after a recent market sweep revealed that mercury-tainted SLPs — long prohibited by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — are still being sold freely in Pasay City. The group is urging the local government to act swiftly, crack down on violators, and protect unsuspecting consumers from irreversible harm.

A Toxic Find in the Heart of the Marketplace

During its latest market monitoring activity, BAN Toxics purchased six brands of banned beauty creams, priced between ₱150 and ₱250:

C Collagen Plus Vit E Day and Night Cream

Golden Pearl Beauty Cream

Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene

Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream

Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream

Jiao Li Miraculous Cream

Tests using a Vanta C Series Handheld XRF Analyzer revealed mercury concentrations skyrocketing between 1,480 ppm and a staggering 26,000 ppm — thousands of times higher than the 1 ppm safety limit set by the ASEAN Cosmetics Directive.

These brands have been banned since 2010 due to their dangerous chemical content, yet they continue to circulate — a sign, according to BAN Toxics, of glaring gaps in enforcement and border control.

“A Ticking Time Bomb for Public Health”

“The unwarranted sale of banned, mercury-tainted SLPs will persist unless the government prioritizes health and safety measures, strengthens border controls, and cracks down on importers and sellers, both online and offline,” stressed Thony Dizon, Advocacy and Campaign Officer of BAN Toxics.

The organization has been monitoring mercury-added cosmetics since 2017, in collaboration with the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG). Their mission stems from the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which prohibits the manufacture, import, and export of cosmetics with mercury concentrations above 1 ppm — a global rule that took effect in 2020.

But regulation alone, Dizon warns, is not enough.

“The FDA is the sole government agency responsible for regulating cosmetics in the country, but there must be interagency collaboration with local governments to keep these toxic products out of the market and away from consumers.”

The Deadly Allure of Lighter Skin

According to the ZMWG, mercury compounds are deliberately added to SLPs to suppress melanin production, promising lighter skin — a beauty ideal deeply rooted in cultural perceptions. But the price for this pale complexion is steep: rashes, skin blotching, and discoloration in the short term; irreversible damage to the kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and immune system with prolonged use.

The risks don’t end with the user. Mercury can be transferred through touch, contaminating household surfaces and putting family members — including children — at risk. In extreme cases, home decontamination may be necessary.

The World Health Organization has identified mercury in cosmetics as a major public health concern, making its continued presence in Philippine marketplaces all the more alarming.

A Call for Stronger Laws and Tougher Penalties

BAN Toxics is renewing its call for the refiling of the Safe Cosmetics Act (Senate Bill 1574), originally filed in 2013 by the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. The bill aims to prohibit ingredients linked to cancer and reproductive toxicity from entering cosmetic products.

Until such laws are passed and enforced with teeth, the group is urging local governments to immediately shut down shops violating regulations and ensure that all cosmetics sold in their jurisdictions have valid Cosmetic Product Notifications from the FDA.

BAN Toxics Won’t Back Down

The group vows to continue its market sweeps, expose violators, and pressure both national and local authorities to close loopholes. For them, every illegal jar of cream pulled from the shelves is a step toward saving lives.

“This is not just about beauty,” Dizon concluded. “This is about protecting the health, safety, and dignity of every Filipino.”

In Baclaran, where the air is filled with the chatter of vendors and the scent of street food, the danger lies quietly in glass jars and plastic tubs. And until decisive action is taken, the price of beauty will remain tragically high — measured not in pesos, but in human health.