MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday assured the public that ghost projects and substandard classrooms would have no place in the implementation of the newly signed agreement between the Department of Education (DepEd) and local government units (LGUs) to speed up the construction of classrooms nationwide. In his speech during the signing of a memorandum of agreement between DepEd and LGUs in Malacañang, Marcos said the setup would help prevent ghost projects and substandard construction, as LGU officials were directly accountable to their communities. He said that classroom turnover would  require written validation from DepEd confirming compliance with standards, underscoring transparency requirements for implementation. Under the agreement, DepEd will provide funding, technical standards, and classroom designs, while LGUs will handle procurement and construction of classrooms in their areas. The government has allocated P9.6 billion for the construction of around 4,000 classrooms nationwide.