Angara pushes amendments to “Adopt-a-School” program

Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said that the Education department is pushing for the amendment of the “Adopt-a-School” program to expand its coverage beyond physical construction.

“The original law is geared towards construction or infrastructure, but we’re also moving to apply it to companies that have training programs so that they can claim deductions. Companies that absorb apprenticeships,” he said at an event on Wednesday.

“You donate computers, for instance, you can also claim a tax deduction,” he added.

Under Republic Act (RA) 8525, known as the “Adopt-a-School Act of 1998,” private entities are encouraged to assist public schools, preferably located in the 20 poorest provinces identified by the Presidential Council for Countryside Development.

The assistance from the private sector targets areas such as staff and faculty development, construction of facilities, upgrading existing facilities, provision of books, publications, and other instructional materials, and modernization of instructional technology.

“So you repair a school, you build a classroom, you donate a computer lab, then you get a 150%,” Mr. Angara said, noting the 150% tax deduction from gross income as one of the benefits of the program.

“So it’s very favorable and we’re trying to ramp up the attention or the information campaign behind this because it’s a 1990s law,” he added.

Among the Adopt-a-School program partners of DepEd are Security Bank and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCII), which donated classrooms nationwide.

“Security Bank has created hundreds of classrooms. The Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry has created thousands of classrooms using this law,” the Education chief said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is facing around 165,000 classroom backlogs and needs to construct about 55,000 classrooms annually to address the shortage by 2028.

In the 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. committed to building 40,000 new classrooms before stepping down as President in 2028. — Almira Louise S. Martinez