21/10/2025
The Remollo Formula: How a Small City Shamed a Giant Bureaucracy
A City That Refused to Wait
In Dumaguete City — a quiet coastal enclave in Negros Oriental better known for its laid-back lifestyle than its infrastructure — something extraordinary happened. While the rest of the country groaned under the weight of bureaucratic delay and overpriced contracts, Dumaguete quietly built what the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could not.
In 2025, the DPWH managed to complete only 22 classrooms nationwide.
Instead, Mayor Felipe Antonio “Ipe” Remollo built more classrooms in Dumaguete during his final year in office than the dismal 22 completed by the DPWH across the entire country.
A small city, once dismissed as provincial, had outperformed a national bureaucracy.
Under the leadership of Mayor Remollo, the city developed a model that blended local government ingenuity with private-sector efficiency — a formula that national policymakers are now studying with urgency: the Remollo Formula.
The Dumaguete Blueprint
The concept was deceptively simple. Instead of waiting for the DPWH’s notoriously slow disbursement cycles or navigating its maze of bidding procedures, the city government worked directly with private contractors and engineers to build classrooms immediately — no waiting for national funds to trickle down.
The City provided the land, permits, and project management oversight, while its partners handled design efficiency, material sourcing, and rapid construction. The result: two-story school buildings rising in months, not years, and at lesser of the DPWH’s cost.
Where DPWH spent 3.5 million pesos per classroom, Dumaguete built its own for far less.
The savings built more rooms, accommodated more children, and restored public faith in what collaboration could achieve.
The Numbers Tell a Story
Nationwide, the Philippines faces a staggering 165,000-classroom shortage, forcing thousands of students to study in shifts, some in makeshift huts or under tents. At this pace, five presidents would come and go before the backlog is cleared — unless the system changes.
In Dumaguete, the numbers tell a different story.
Mayor Remollo, Chairperson of the Local School Board, disclosed that 38 new classrooms were constructed across six public school campuses through the city’s locally funded program — all completed by the end of his term last year in office.
The breakdown of new classrooms under the Remollo administration includes:
* Cadawinonan Elementary School – 8 classrooms
* South City Elementary School – 8 classrooms
* North City Elementary School – 8 classrooms
* Cantil-e Elementary School – 6 classrooms
* Camanjac National High School – 6 classrooms
* Junob National High School – 2 classrooms
In addition, Dumaguete City National High School received a major electrical upgrade to support expanding classroom facilities and enhance campus safety.
By the end of his term, Dumaguete had delivered 38 new learning spaces, easing classroom congestion and setting a benchmark for how a local government, working hand-in-hand with the private sector, can accomplish what a national agency could not.
This achievement did not just build classrooms — it built confidence that local governments, when led with integrity, can outperform even the country’s largest bureaucracies.
Influence Beyond Negros
The impact rippled far beyond Dumaguete’s shores. In August 2025, during the Senate’s EdCom 2 hearing on the nationwide classroom backlog, legislators cited Dumaguete as a case study in efficiency and transparency.
Senator Bam Aquino, chair of the Senate Basic Education Committee, called it a “proof of concept” — that local government and private-sector synergy works where national agencies fail.
Senator Loren Legarda went further, questioning DPWH’s “gold-plated” costing:
“What kind of gold are they using when Dumaguete can build the same classroom cheaper and faster?” she asked.
A City That Built Hope
From South Central Elementary to Piapi, children now learn in bright, new classrooms that didn’t exist two years ago. Their laughter fills the same air once thick with frustration.
To parents and teachers, these classrooms are more than concrete and steel — they’re a statement: that government can work, that transparency is possible, and that even a small city can lead a national transformation.
The Remollo Formula has become shorthand for governance that delivers — a model of partnership, integrity, and local empowerment that could redefine how the Philippines builds its future.
Tagline:
When a small city outbuilds a national agency, it’s not just about classrooms — it’s about accountability, courage, and the power of doing what others say cannot be done.
Follow US Breaking News Negros Oriental
Please share
