A pressing question now echoes across the Bangsamoro region: Are education funds being used for schools—or something else entirely?
Documents have recently surfaced online showing requests for over PHP 285 million worth of school building projects in the 1st District of Lanao del Sur for the year 2025. These documents, allegedly signed by Representative Ziaur-Rahman “Zia” Alonto Adiong, are causing a stir—not only because of the staggering figures involved but because of who they implicate.
Zia is one of the known critics of Vice President Sara Duterte, particularly on the issue of corruption. Yet here we are, confronted with what appears to be a glaring contradiction: a lawmaker calling out corruption, while allegedly requesting billions from the Department of Education for school buildings with suspiciously bloated price tags.
In the first letter, a total of PHP 120 million is recommended for four one-story school buildings in Saguiaran, Kapai, Masiu, and Marawi City—PHP 30 million each for schools with just four classrooms. In a second letter, an additional PHP 165 million is proposed for four more schools, including a PHP 60 million three-story structure with 12 classrooms, and PHP 40 million for two-story buildings with only 10 classrooms.
Let’s put this into perspective: at those figures, one classroom costs around PHP 5 million—far beyond the government’s own standard estimate of PHP 1 million to PHP 1.5 million per classroom.
Naturally, the public asks: Are these classrooms made of gold?
To be fair, it must be acknowledged that these documents were first posted by Sass Rogando Sasot, a staunch Duterte loyalist and vocal government critic. This raises questions about the motive and authenticity of the leak. But while the source may be politically biased, the content of the documents cannot simply be dismissed—especially when public funds and the future of young learners are at stake.
If the documents are fake, then let them be proven as such through official clarification. But if they are real, then we are staring at a possible case of gross misuse of funds under the guise of education—one that must not be ignored just because it implicates a known critic of those currently in power.
This issue is larger than politics. It’s about the integrity of those entrusted with public money, and the protection of our children’s right to quality education. The people of Lanao del Sur, and the nation as a whole, deserve transparency. They deserve answers.
We call on the Department of Education, the Bangsamoro Government, and Congressman Zia Adiong himself to come forward and clarify this matter. Denials are not enough—full disclosure and an independent audit must be made.
Public office is public trust. And when billions are at stake, silence is complicity.