Bongbong cites need to rehabilitate 'Marcos-type' school buildings

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. underscored Monday the need to rehabilitate school buildings, noting that they have been there for decades. 

After inspecting the Tibagan Elementary School in San Miguel, Bulacan, Marcos said he noticed that some of the buildings were ''Marcos-type,'' noting that these were supposed to be replaced already. 

''Sa inspection namin, alam ninyo ba 'yung ibang nakita namin na school building, Marcos-type school building pa, ang Marcos-type school building was supposed to be replaced between 20 and 30 years. Ang life niyan is 20 to 30 years, pero ayan mabuti na lang at nagagamit pa,'' Marcos said. 

(In our inspection, I've seen that the school buildings were Marcos-type. They were supposed to be replaced between 20 and 30 years. Its life span is 20 to 30 years, but it's good that we can still use it.) 

''Really, they have to look at the rehabilitation of many of them,'' he added.

The Marcos Pre-Fabricated School Building (Marcos-type) is a classification of Department of Education school facility that indicates that it was built in the 70s, during the time of late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Marcos-type buildings are known for their sturdy steel features, according to the DepEd. A lot of Marcos-type buildings still stand today and are being continuously rehabilitated by the agency.

The President also noticed that the comfort rooms in the school need to be improved, however, there has been a problem on the water supply in the area, making it difficult to rehabilitate the bathrooms.

''One of the things that I noticed are the bathroom... kailangan na kailangan nating linisin at pagandahin ang bathrooms. Hindi naman mahirap gawin 'yun except ang problema, sa mga pinuntahan naming eskwela, walang tubig. Kaya't 'yun ang titingnan naming mabuti kung saan dapat manggaling ang tubig. Bakit walang tubig, nagbabayad naman sila para sa kanilang water supply?'' he said.

(There's a need to clean and improve the bathrooms. It's not hard to do that except the problem is that the schools have no water supply. So, we are checking and determining where the water could be sourced. Why there's no water when they are paying for the supply?)

Marcos said the water supply is a basic need to also ensure the health and safety of children in schools. 

Still, the President said he is happy with the conduct of his inspection.

Marcos and Education Secretary Sonny Angara also witnessed an orientation session for 20 students by Khan Academy — an online platform that provides free and high-quality educational resources.

Meanwhile, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda presented the newly installed Starlink internet service that aims to provide faster and more reliable internet access in schools. 

Marcos said more or less 27 million students are enrolled for School Year 2025-2026, which will open on June 16. —AOL, GMA Integrated News