Attached is an Aide Memoire from Former DepEd Undersecretary Alain Del B. Pascua on the Urgent Need to Fund the Repair and Reconstruction of Classrooms Damaged by Calamities.
DepEd Urgent Need to Fund the Repair and Reconstruction of Classrooms Damaged by Calamities
The Department of Education (DepEd) reiterates its call for an increase in the allocation of its Quick Response Fund (QRF) to enable the full and immediate repair and reconstruction of classrooms damaged by disasters that took place from 2016 to 2020.
Various calamities during this 5-year period have destroyed DepEd school buildings and facilities (Please see Annex A).
Rehabilitation projects have been drawn from the DepEd QRF, the DepEd Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF), and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF).
QRF is a P2-billion budget provided to DepEd yearly for post-disaster repair and reconstruction. It originally amounted to P1 billion in 2016. In 2017, the fund was removed. QRF was restored in 2018 and increased to the current amount.
The BEFF is a programmed fund and its allocations for renovations in the aftermath of catastrophes are limited.
The NDRRMF is a special fund that DepEd, together with all other agencies, can avail of to finance Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Programs following major tragedies. After 2017, however, DepEd has been able to get only a very small amount from the NDRRMF.
All these sources of funds have been insufficient.
To date, out of a total of 28,939 classrooms that need reconstruction, excluding the damaged classrooms brought by Super Typhoon Rolly, only 20,233 have been funded in the amount of P7,699,849,991.08.
The balance of 8,706 classrooms, with repair and reconstruction costs amounting to P14,233,466,915.87, plus an additional estimate of P10,000,000.00 to cover Super Typhoon Rolly damages, are still unfunded.
(Annex B provides a summary of funded and unfunded repair and reconstruction projects as of November 10, 2020.)
In every natural disaster, human life and physical infrastructure are the most vulnerable. In the case of DepEd, its physical properties like school buildings are constantly damaged by calamities. This may be attributed to the age of the structures.
We are also aware that the adverse conditions we are experiencing now are very much different from the previous years due to Climate Change.
Moreover, the overloading of outdated electrical cables and devices connected with new or additional equipment provided to schools has often caused fires to old buildings.
The required funding is vital to restore normalcy, ensure the continuity of education and public service, and safeguard the welfare of learners and personnel when they return to schools after the calamities.
Even in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools remain central to disaster response. In the absence of other viable community or LGU facilities, a number of schools serve as COVID-19 quarantine or isolation sites, and evacuation centers.
DepEd is seeking other sources of funds, but these efforts have yet to yield results. For instance, the Department already requested for a payout from the 2018 Parametric Insurance Program for government facilities procured for LGUs and DepEd, but this payment has not been made until now.
Failure in the release of the payout happens, despite the occurrence of two disasters – the magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Zambales and Typhoon Tisoy. These events should have triggered the immediate issuance of the payout to cover the repair and reconstruction of damaged classrooms (Please see the separate Aide Memoire on DepEd’s Experience on the Parametric Insurance Coverage of Government Facilities against Natural Calamities).
Delays in the release of these funds have increased the cost of rebuilding the wrecked school buildings (Details of the unfunded validated projects are outlined below, and further substantiated in Annex A).
| YEAR | TOTAL UNFUNDED BALANCE (in Pesos) | REASONS |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 130,848,995.80 | P1 billion QRF allocation for DepEd was not enough for all damages due to various disasters. |
| 2017 | 886,476,460.70 | The unfunded projects in 2016 was not carried over in 2017 as the 2017 budget was proposed as early as May 2016. BEFF is a programmed fund. |
| 2018 | 3,173,066,606.93 | The QRF was restored in 2018, in the amount of P2 billion. However, the amount was not even enough to accommodate all damages sustained in 2018. The unfunded projects in 2016 and 2017 were not carried in 2018 under BEFF, as BEFF was designed to address a 5-year plan to address classroom shortage. Most damages in 2017 occurred after May 2017 when the 2018 budget was already submitted. BEFF fund was significantly reduced to fund free tertiary education. |
| 2019 | 9,887,583,830.42 | P2 billion QRF allocation for DepEd was not enough for all damages due to various disasters. BEFF fund remained at significantly low levels following the previous year’s budget reduction and in view of Cash-based Budgeting. Most of the damages were caused by a series of earthquakes in Mindanao during the last quarter of the year. |
| 2020 | 155,491,022.02 | The 2020 P2 billion QRF remains insufficient, especially as a portion has been used for repair and reconstruction of classrooms damaged in the previous year due to various disasters occurring in the last quarter of 2019. Unfunded repair and reconstruction excluding Super Typhoon Rolly |
| Sub-Total | 14,233,466,915.87 | Total unfunded from 2016-2020 excluding Super Typhoon Rolly |
| 2020 | 10,000,000,000.00 | This amount is double the current damaged cost based on the Rapid Damage Assessment Report (RADaR) as of 10 November 2020. DepEd Rapid Assessment of Damages Reports indicate that damages already amount to nearly P5 billion. These include partial reports from the most heavily affected areas such as Catanduanes, Albay, etc. and shall, thus, further increase as more reports are received and validated. |
| Grand Total | 24,233,466,915.87 | (TOTAL UNFUNDED REPAIR AND RECONSTRUCTION FROM 2016-2020 INCLUDING SUPER TYPHOON ROLLY) |
As of June 2021, the total unfunded calamity repair and reconstruction need is P21,042,035,329 broken down as follows:
| YEAR | TOTAL UNFUNDED BALANCE (in Pesos) | REASONS |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 126,218,768.55 | P1 billion QRF allocation for DepEd was not enough for all damages due to various disasters. |
| 2017 | 874,147,141.17 | The annual P1 billion allocation for DepEd was removed. For 2017, DepEd had no QRF allocation. The unfunded projects in 2016 was not carried over in 2017 as the 2017 budget was proposed as early as May 2016. BEFF is a programmed fund. |
| 2018 | 3,157,406,628.47 | The unfunded projects in 2016 and 2017 were not carried in 2018 under BEFF, as BEFF was designed to address a 5-year plan to address classroom shortage. Most damages in 2017 occurred after May 2017 when the 2018 budget was already submitted. BEFF fund was significantly reduced to fund free tertiary education. |
| 2019 | 9,910,800,489.26 | P 2 billion QRF allocation for DepEd was not enough for all damages due to various disasters. BEFF fund remained at significantly low levels following the previous year’s budget reduction and in view of Cash-based Budgeting. Most of the damages were caused by a series of earthquakes in Mindanao during the last quarter of the year. |
| 2020 | 6,903,580,698.19 | The 2020 P2 billion QRF remains insufficient, especially as a portion has been used for repair and reconstruction of classrooms damaged in the previous year due to various disasters occurring in the last quarter of 2019. Unfunded repair and reconstruction excluding Super Typhoon Rolly |
| Sub-Total | 20,972,153,725.65 | Total unfunded from 2016-2020 excluding Super Typhoon Rolly |
| 2021 | 69,891,603.07 | This amount includes damages caused by Fire Incidents, Landslide, Soil Erosion, and TY Bising |
| 10,000,000,000 | Assume 10B damage as calamities come during the 3rd and 4th quarter of the year | |
| Grand Total | 31,042,035,329 | TOTAL UNFUNDED REPAIR AND RECONSTRUCTION FROM 2016-June 2021 |
This unfunded balance excludes the provisions made from the CY 2021 Quick Response Fund equivalent to P2 billion which was used to as the requirements of priority regions damaged by Typhoon Ulysses during the last quarter of CY 2020.
