Tue | June 5, 2018 | 1:00 PM

The brand new four-storey, 42-classroom building at Mandaluyong Addition Hills Elementary School (MAHES) was constructed by Resorts World Philippines Cultural Heritage Foundation, Inc., in coordination with PAGCOR, the Department of Education, Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. and the City of Mandaluyong.

Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos (extreme right) unveils the MAHES building marker with Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. President and CEO Kingson Sian (second from right), PAGCOR AVP for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Jimmy Bondoc (third from right), Schools Division Superintendent Nerissa Losaria (fourth from right) and PAGCOR Senior VP Edwin Bermudez (extreme left).

The aerial shot of MAHES, which will initially cater to 1,650 enrollees from different communities in Mandaluyong City.

Public school students in Mandaluyong City excitedly welcomed the new school year after the local government recently inaugurated the newly-built four-storey, 42-classroom school building in Mandaluyong Addition Hills Elementary School (MAHES).

MAHES, which officially opened its doors to 1,650 enrollees this school year, is Mandaluyong’s 23rd public school. It was built to address congestion problems in the city’s public schools caused by increasing student enrolments.

The construction of the multi-storey building at MAHES was funded by the Resorts World Philippines Cultural Foundation, Inc. (RWPCHFI) as part of its social responsibility commitments required by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) from its integrated casino resort licensees.

According to MAHES Principal Emma Arubio, their pioneering batch of pupils came from congested public schools like Nueve de Febrero Elementary School, Addition Hills Integrated School, Pleasant Hills Elementary School, Andres Bonifacio Integrated School and Jose Fabella Memorial School. The average class size in said schools was 50 to 55 per classroom – making it difficult for students to concentrate on their lessons.

“The opening of MAHES addresses the severe congestion problems in other public schools in Mandaluyong which have been perennially experiencing classroom shortage. Since we will now absorb other enrollees, the other schools can now reduce the excessive number of students in one class. Also, they can now limit the number of class shifts from three to two in a day,” Arubio explained.

Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos said MAHES opened the opportunity for more students to get quality education despite overpopulation problems in most public schools in the city.

“Barangay Addition Hills, to be specific, is one of the most populous communities in Mandaluyong kaya’t talagang nagkakaproblema kami sa classrooms. Dahil sa pagkakaroon ng karagdagang paaralan, hindi na magdurusa ang mga estudyante sa masisikip na klase at wala na ring dahilan ang mga magulang para hindi makapag-aral ang kanilang mga anak,” Abalos noted.

MAHES has spacious and comfortable classrooms which can accommodate a total of 35 classes from Kindergarten to Grade Six. It also boasts of the “Green Building-Complaint” tag which means having state-of-the-art amenities such as a fire sprinkler alarm system, a standby generator and uninterrupted water supply, among others.

The construction of MAHES was undertaken by RWPCHFI in cooperation with PAGCOR, Department of Education (DepEd), and the local government of Mandaluyong.

Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. (TIHGI) organized RWPCHFI to engage in charitable, educational, cultural, health and environmental endeavors. This was pursuant to the mandate under TIHGI’s Provisional License to set aside two percent of gross gaming revenues from its non-junket operations.

Go back