PAGCOR earmarks P1 Billion for the construction of 1,000 classrooms in public schools nationwide

PAGCOR earmarks P1 Billion for the construction of 1,000 classrooms in public schools nationwide
(Photo) President Benigno Simeon Aquino III witnessed the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (PAGCOR) ceremonial turnover of a symbolic check to the Department of Education (DepEd), representing PAGCOR’s P1 billion funding for the “Matuwid na Daan sa Silid Aralan” Project. The turnover was held during the first year anniversary celebration of the Aquino administration at the Philippine Sports Arena, Pasig on June30. PAGCOR’s P1 billion funding will be used for the construction of 1,000 classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide. In photo with President Aquino are PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. and DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has earmarked a P1 billion funding for the construction of 1,000 classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide. The project, dubbed “Matuwid na Landas sa Silid-Aralan”, is in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd).

PAGCOR’s P1 billion funding for the project was made possible due to the robust performance of the agency during the first five months of 2011. In fact, PAGCOR generated P3.03 billion in gross income for the month of May alone, a record high in its 25-year history.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat, Jr. said the agency’s huge savings in operating expenses since July 2010 enabled PAGCOR to allocate P1 billion for the construction of 1,000 classrooms. “From January to May this year alone, we were able to reduce our OPEX by P873 million,” he added.

According to Naguiat, the “Matuwid na Landas sa Silid-Aralan” project is PAGCOR’s biggest project ever since all of the state-run gaming firm’s contributions are mandated by specific laws.

This project is PAGCOR’s contribution to the national program of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in improving the quality of education in the country. “Through this undertaking, we hope to help our government in addressing the perennial problem of classrooms shortage in the Philippines.We hope to have all 1,000 classrooms completed and operational next school year in communities where they are most needed,” Naguiat said.

The “Matuwid na Landas sa Silid-Aralan” project will likewise tap the help of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) which shall construct classrooms that are to be funded by PAGCOR and compliant with DepEd’s standards and specifications. “We believe these NGOs can help us facilitate the construction of our 1,000 classrooms. They are present in various communities nationwide and they already have the experience in implementing large-scale projects,” Naguiat explained.

“By partnering with NGOs we are also able to promote the spirit of volunteerism in our communities and get the different sectors of our society involved in this project,” Naguiat added.

Education is given high priority in PAGCOR’s list of Corporate Social Responsibility projects. The agency provided an initial funding of P100 million for the P-Noy Bayanihan project in partnership with DepEd, DENR and TESDA which aims to construct thousands of school desks out of confiscated logs from illegal logging. The initial batch of these school desks are scheduled for donation in the coming days. PAGCOR also produces hundreds of school desks made out of old slot machine stands. Most of these had already been donated to different public schools.

Go back