THE Department of Education (DepEd) is ramping up its partnership initiatives by bringing its 2026 Adopt-A-School Program (ASP) Caravan to Mindanao, expanding opportunities for the private sector to directly invest in physical security and campus safety for public schools.
Following an initial rollout in Bacolod City for the Visayas cluster, the Mindanao leg highlighted the launch of a dedicated School Safety Package available on the newly introduced ASP digital platform microsite.
Through this web-based system, private donors, corporate sponsors, and civic organizations can directly fund high-priority safety infrastructure, including perimeter fencing, CCTV surveillance systems, metal detectors, security personnel support, and public address systems.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that the expansion aims to deliver targeted, high-impact support to classrooms across the country.
“Under the leadership of President Bongbong Marcos, we are making sure that our strategic partnerships directly address real, on-the-ground needs—starting with the fundamental right of every child to feel secure inside their classrooms,” Angara said. “Our goal in expanding the Adopt-A-School Program is not just to provide supplies, but to ensure that our learners’ environment is safe and well-maintained.”
The expanded ASP features an updated Menu of Programs designed to align private sector contributions with DepEd’s 5-Point Reform Agenda and recent policy recommendations from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).
To foster inter-agency collaboration, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) also presented their respective investment frameworks alongside DepEd.
Beyond security measures, the ASP platform continues to accommodate donations for classroom construction, Senior High School work immersion programs, teacher support, feeding initiatives, and learning materials.
To modernize donor engagement, the platform features transparent project matching, real-time digital pledge tracking, and streamlined processing for tax incentives under Republic Act No. 8525 (Adopt-A-School Act of 1998) and BIR Revenue Regulations No. 13-2025.
“We are moving from traditional charity to strategic investment,” Angara added, encouraging local organizations and stakeholders nationwide to utilize the new digital portal.
