Fri | 6.22.2018 | 8:00 AM

PAGCOR VP for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Jimmy Bondoc (2nd from left) hands the symbolic key to Teofilo V. Fernandez Elementary School principal Nidaponsa Abarquez during the ceremonial turnover of the new school building donated by the state gaming firm. Looking on are (from left) Casino Filipino (CF) Davao Branch Manager Nestor Galgo, Schools District Supervisor Rosalita Monsanto and a student representative.

PAGCOR VP for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Jimmy Bondoc (4th from left) and CF Davao Branch Manager Nestor Galgo (extreme left) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony during the turnover of a three-storey, 18-classroom facility to A. Mabini Elementary School. Also in photo are (from left) school principal Maria Latiada, a student representative, Binzar Yap from the office of PBA Partylist Rep. Jericho Nograles and Greg Calamba, who represented Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Students of A. Mabini Elementary School express their gratitude to PAGCOR for donating a modern learning facility that will enable them to enjoy whole day classes.

The brand new three-storey, 18-classroom building donated by PAGCOR to Teofilo V. Fernandez Elementary School will be used by 936 students from Grades Two, Four and Six. The learning facility boasts of spacious and well-ventilated classrooms, toilets with water supply in every floor and handicapped-friendly features.

BETTER education lies ahead for thousands of public school students in Davao City after receiving brand new school buildings and computer units from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) recently.

Teofilo V. Fernandez Elementary School (TVFES) and A. Mabini Elementary School (AMES) each received a three-storey, 18-classroom building from PAGCOR. Both were among the densely-populated public schools in the city and have a combined enrollment of close to 4,000 pupils.

In TVFES, a total of 936 students will use the new PAGCOR building, which boasts of spacious and well-ventilated classrooms, toilets with water supply in every floor and handicapped-friendly features.

According to TVFES head Nidaponsa Abarquez, they will still be holding two class shifts owing to their thick population. But with 18 additional learning spaces, they will no longer have to hold two simultaneous classes in one classroom.

“Our pupils will now have more space to move around. They will be more comfortable. Dati kasi, may mga grade levels kami na umaabot ng hanggang 80 ang dami ng mga estudyante kaya’t talagang siksikan sa isang classroom. Hindi lang ang mga pupils ang hirap kundi maging ang mga teachers. Napakalaking tulong at ginhawa talaga ang hatid ng PAGCOR school building na aming natanggap,” she said.

AMES, on the other hand, can now enjoy whole day classes as the learning facility it received from PAGCOR will house students from Grades One, Two and Six, which is nearly half of the school’s current population of 1,435 pupils. The PAGCOR building is also a welcome relief for the students who, for the longest time, endured holding classes in old and dilapidated classrooms that get submerged in knee-deep floodwaters during heavy rains.

Aside from school building donations, PAGCOR also donated 100 sets of desktop computers to the city government through its “Handog Computer” program. The computer sets will be distributed to various public schools that lack adequate learning equipment for their information technology lessons.

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