The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT)-NCR Union slammed the Department of Education (DepEd) for its failure to complete school infrastructure projects in far-flung and remote areas. This was exposed in the report released by the Commission on Audit (COA) for 2023. Funds for this projects were available to the department as early as 2021.

COA found that 76 out of 98 facilities worth ₱1.4 billion under DepEd’s “Last Mile School Program (LMSP)” were not completed as of December 31, 2023 (reported reference date). It is extremely alarming that DepEd accomplished only 22, or 22.45% of the total, despite paying ₱211.23 million in “mobilization fees” to contractors.

These infrastructure projects were supposed to be completed within 150 days from the date of permit issuance and should not have exceeded May 31, 2022. According to the report, the construction of these classrooms has been delayed for more than a year and a half, or 555 days, as of December 2023.

“The COA findings confirm what we’ve long been saying — that our learners and teachers in far-flung areas continue to suffer from government negligence and discrimination,” ACT NCR Union president Teacher Ruby Bernardo said. She added that it is heartbreaking that while so much money is being squandered and misappropriated through corruption, students and teachers are struggling in dilapidated and unsafe facilities.

The teacher-leader emphasized that the government has not only failed to complete buildings but has also trampled on students’ right to education and teachers’ right to decent working conditions.” If DepEd truly prioritizes quality education, why has the condition of our schools in remote areas not improved until now?” Bernardo asked.

Vice President Sara Duterte was DepEd secretary from 2021 to 2022 replacing Leonor Briones, who served from June 2022 to July 2024 under the Duterte administration. ACT NCR Union stated they should be held accountable for the gross mismanagement of the department’s funds and resources.

DepEd launched LMSP on July 18, 2019, to supposedly address facilities and resources inadequacy in far-flung and remote areas, which is referred to as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAS). The announcement came a few days after the Duterte administration and DepEd made its first series of closures of 55 Lumad schools in Davao managed by Salugpongan Ta’ Tanu Igonogon Community Learning Center Inc.

In the following years, DepEd closed all 216 Lumad schools in Mindanao. The department’s “last mile schools” were part of the then-Duterte administration’s counter-insurgency campaign to suppress Lumad organizations and communities that dared to organize and establish their own schools. In 2023, while serving as DepEd secretary, Sara Duterte boasted that completing the construction of schools in remote areas was one of her priorities.

ACT has earlier called for the reopening of Lumad schools and the reinstatement of teachers and students. The group also called for a comprehensive review of all ongoing infrastructure projects across the country to ensure the delivery of quality educational facilities.