MANDALUYONG, 4 December 2025 — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday welcomed the launch of the BDO HOPE Mastercard as a practical, citizen-powered boost to the country’s classroom construction efforts.

The initiative, jointly developed by BDO Unibank Inc., Friends of Hope Inc. (HOPE), and DepEd, creates a long-term fundraising stream in which every use of the new credit card directly contributes to building classrooms in priority public schools.

For every PhP1,000 in qualified spending, BDO donates PhP5 to HOPE, with DepEd guiding school selection and ensuring all projects comply with national standards. A portion of annual membership fees—PhP200 for principal cards and PhP100 for supplementary cards—also goes to the classroom fund.

Supported by a historic budget allocation for the education sector of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration for 2026, Education Secretary Sonny Angara highlighted the importance of the partnership in closing long-standing gaps in school infrastructure.

“Magsisilbi itong isa sa mga konkretong landas upang mabawasan ang classroom gap sa bansa—isang hamong maaaring abutin pa ng dekada kung hindi natin pagtutulungan,” Angara said.

DepEd said the BDO HOPE Mastercard offers a “zero-cost-to-government” support mechanism that allows everyday consumers to contribute to building safe and adequate learning spaces.

“Every swipe gives renewed hope to every learner,” Angara noted.

Under the partnership, BDO shoulders all development, production, and marketing costs of the new card and manages the processing and remittance of donations.

“Every child deserves a safe and inspiring space to grow and achieve their aspirations,” said Ma. Nannette R. Regala, Senior Vice President and Consumer Banking Group Marketing Head of BDO.

HOPE receives and deploys funds exclusively for DepEd-validated classroom projects, drawing on its track record of building over a hundred classrooms in underserved and disaster-affected areas nationwide.

DepEd said the program demonstrates how private sector support can accelerate learning recovery efforts by expanding safe, functional classrooms more quickly and more sustainably.

With enrollment rising yearly and thousands of schools damaged by typhoons and earthquakes, partnerships help DepEd ensure that communities waiting the longest finally get the learning spaces and programs they deserve.