Senator Bong Go says the government should prioritize the classroom backlogs instead of providing budget to the confidential funds.

In a report by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas, Go declared that the Department of Education (DepEd) has more than 150,000 classroom backlogs that the government has to focus on, which he favors prioritizing for funding rather than putting the budget to CIF.

“Tandaan natin, more than 150,000 classrooms pa po ang backlogs sa buong Pilipinas. Unahin natin ang classrooms,” Go said.

As he roamed around the country, Go observed the lack of classrooms, admitting that even Davao City experiences classroom scarcity like Buhangin Elementary School.

“Ako mismo, taga Davao, sa Buhangin, meron doong classroom na sementado mayroon namang classroom na kahoy. Tapos butas-butas na ang yero pati ang bubong,” he continued.

“Napaka-unfair naman na sementado ang iba tapos ito butas-butas ang classroom ng ibang estudyante,” the senator stated.

He added that additional benefits should also be sorted out for the public school teachers, as well as an increase in their allowances.

Moreover, Go expected the approval of the additional salary standardization for the welfare of government agencies, including the teachers, especially since they were frontliners during the pandemic and the recently held Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).

The senator, who is also one of the vice chairmans of the Senate Committee on Finance, lauded Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte for not pushing through with the CIF request for next year.