Funding sought for stalled PUP projects
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Thursday vowed to speed up the completion of stalled building projects in the different campuses of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) to address the lack of classrooms in the state university.
Dizon made the commitment during a campus job fair held by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on the PUP main campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, where he met with PUP president Manuel Muhi.
“I promised him that we will include in the 2027 national budget whatever amount is needed to finish the projects,” Dizon told reporters. “Because our priority, especially for 2027, is to fund unfinished projects before we think of new ones.”
The DPWH secretary noted that the lack of funding had delayed work on the buildings, many of these for years. He said that around P1.5 billion is needed to complete the projects by next year.
Muhi told Dizon that the university is struggling to accommodate around 100,000 students in all its campuses. He said that around 10 buildings on the main campus and other branches, all DPWH projects, remain unfinished.
10 unfinished buildings
Among the stalled infrastructure projects is a nine-story academic building on the main campus, which is a combination of classrooms, laboratories and offices. The university considers the building its “largest construction project so far” as it is an improvement of the north wing of its main academic building. It was supposed to be executed in three phases, with the targeted completion date set in 2024 or early 2025.
“If the nine-story [building] is completed, it will mean around 300 classrooms that we can use,” Muhi said.
He added that because of the shortage of classrooms, many college programs have adopted a hybrid learning arrangement, although with the completion of the new building, full face-to-face classes will be implemented.
