Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Department of Education (DepEd) turned-over a ten-classroom, two-storey building to Handumanan Elementary School here last January 24, 2013.

The ceremonial turnover of the P12.85-million learning facility was graced by DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro, PAGCOR Director Jose Tanjuatco and Assistant VP for Community Relations and Services Henry Reyes.

The funding for said school is part of the P1-billion “Matuwid na Daan sa Silid-Aralan” project of the two agencies which aims to eradicate the perennial problem of classrooms shortage by constructing over a thousand classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools all over the country. PAGCOR provides the funds while the DepEd operates and maintains the classrooms.

Tanjuatco said the school building project is the biggest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project of PAGCOR in the last 27 years. “Through prudent management of funds, we have earned hefty savings to support various nation-building programs such as the construction of thousands of classrooms nationwide. Ito ang commitment ng PAGCOR para matulungan na masugpo ang kakulangan ng classrooms sa buong bansa (This is PAGCOR’s commitment to help solve the shortage of classrooms in the country.),” he said.

As of December 31, 2012, a total of 97 classrooms in 21 sites nationwide have already been completed. Meantime, 440 more classrooms in 71 locations are already under construction while 254 classrooms in 42 other locations are in the pipeline.

“Marami-rami na rin ang nakumpleto at nagagamit na classrooms at kapag natapos na ang lahat ng construction, hindi ibig sabihin noon ay titigil na ang PAGCOR sa pagtulong sa DepEd. Alam namin na marami pang kailangan ang sector ng edukasyon kaya patuloy pa rin kaming magbibigay ng tulong (Many classrooms have already been completed and are now being used. But even if the construction is already completed, it doesn’t mean that PAGCOR will stop helping DepEd. We know the education sector has many concerns that is why we will continue to help them.),” Tanjuatco added.

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro expressed his gratitude to PAGCOR for its unwavering support to the education sector.

“During our very first cabinet meeting, President Benigno Aquino III reminded all cabinet secretaries that no child should be left behind. Yung kabataang Pilipino ang boss naming lahat at ang pangarap ng mga kabataan ay kailangang tuparin ng mga myembro ng gabinete. (The Filipino youth is our boss and their dreams should be fulfilled by members of the Cabinet.)We are thankful that PAGCOR has been our partner in fulfilling this dream for the Filipino youth,” Luistro said.

Handumanan Elementary School Principal Theda Limbaña is also thankful that their school was chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the “Matuwid na Daan sa Silid-Aralan” project of PAGCOR and DepEd. Their school is the biggest elementary school in the Division of Bacolod City in terms of population and they are in dire need of additional classrooms. “Currently, we have 4,842 students but we only have 54 classrooms. We have a shortage of 16 more rooms,” she cited.

Limbaña said that due to lack of classrooms, classes for the students have to be conducted at the library, covered court and feeding center. Teachers are also forced to hold morning and afternoon classes to accommodate the increasing number of students.

Limbaña added that almost 60 students are accommodated in one classroom despite the standard number of 40 to 50 students. With the new PAGCOR-funded classrooms, their students will have a better and more comfortable learning venue. “We are very thankful that our prayer for additional classrooms was heard. This will be a big help especially to our students who mostly belong to depressed and underprivileged families,” she said.

Apart from the “Matuwid na Daan sa Silid-Aralan” project, PAGCOR also allocated P100 million for the “P-noy Bayanihan” project which is being carried out by the state-owned gaming firm in collaboration with the DepEd, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The project aims to address the backlog of armchairs in public schools across the country by manufacturing thousands of school desks from illegal logs confiscated by the DENR.

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