The national government has allocated ₱3 billion to improve access to basic education for children in geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas (GIDCAs), House Assistant Minority Leader and Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales announced on Sunday.

Gonzales said the funds will support the Last Mile Schools Program, which ensures that learners in remote and marginalized areas are not left behind in accessing public kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education. He noted that at least 41 barangays in Eastern Samar are classified as GIDCAs.

Under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the ₱3 billion allocation will finance a comprehensive package of infrastructure, facilities, and teaching staff for last mile schools.

“The package includes not just school buildings, but also internet connectivity, technical-vocational laboratories, water and sanitation facilities, and solar power systems for off-grid schools,” Gonzales explained.

The lawmaker issued the statement following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to decentralize the government’s school building program.

“We support the President’s decision to transfer school building funds to local government units,” Gonzales said. “In hard-to-reach barangays, it is indeed more practical for municipal governments to take the lead in constructing school facilities, with support from the Philippine Army’s engineering brigades.”

A former mayor of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, Gonzales has firsthand experience serving isolated communities such as Homonhon Island, which can only be reached via a two-and-a-half-hour motorized boat ride from the mainland.

Gonzales serves on the House committees on basic education and appropriations. He is also one of the principal authors of House Bill No. 4745, or the proposed Last Mile Schools Act, which seeks to institutionalize and make permanent the Last Mile Schools Program launched by the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2019.

The House of Representatives approved the bill on third and final reading on October 13 and transmitted it to the Senate the following day. (LB)