PAGCOR’s Handog Computer Program reaches Yolanda victims in Western Visayas
Thursday | September 13, 2018 | 2:10 PM
A student representative from Kabugwason Elementary School cheerfully receives a brand new computer unit from PAGCOR VP for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Jimmy Bondoc. Looking on are Casino Filipino Bacolod Senior Branch Admin Manager Raymund Gatuslao (extreme left) and School Principal Ma. Cecilia Malan.
Casino Filipino Iloilo Slot Manager Judegario Hugo (left) leads the formal turnover of computer units to Nicomedes R. Tubar Sr. National High School Assistant Principal Nicasio Valenzuela (middle). With them in photo is Batad Municipal Mayor Pedro Alarcon (right).
Teachers and students of Andres Bonifacio Elementary School-1 pose for a photo with PAGCOR VP for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Jimmy Bondoc (3rd from left, front row) after receiving five computer units from the state gaming firm.
“Gusto ko pong maging Computer Engineer kasi po malaki ang sweldo,” proudly declares nine-year-old Daryl Bigaso after EES, a small public school in far-flung Batad District in Iloilo, became one of the latest beneficiaries of the Handog Computer Program of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
Batad was one of the places in Western Visayas that suffered the fury of super typhoon Yolanda in 2013. The residents of the fifth-class town struggled not only in restoring their livelihood but also in replacing the educational facilities that were destroyed during the super typhoon.
“Napakalaking bagay para sa aming mga mag-aaral ang pagkakaroon ng hindi lang mga karagdagang pasilidad kundi mga kagamitang makakatulong sa kanilang pagkalap ng mga bagong kaalaman. Pagkatapos ng Yolanda, akala namin wala nang pag-asang makabangon pa kami. Pero sa awa ng Diyos at sa tulong ng mga ahensyang tulad ng ng PAGCOR, patuloy kaming nakakatanggap ng biyaya at hindi napag-iiwanan sa aspeto ng edukasyon,” explained Alita Maderaje, a Teacher III at Nicomedes Tubar National High School (NTNHS) in San Dionisio, Iloilo, which also received brand new computer sets from PAGCOR.
Both EES and NTNHS got ten computers each from the state gaming firm after the agency donated 80 computer units to seven public schools in Negros Occidental. Among the recipients of PAGCOR’s computer donation in the province included Andres Bonifacio Elementary School-1 (ABES-1), Andres Bonifacio Elementary School-2 (ABES-2), Villa Esperanza Elementary School (VEES), Felisa Elementary School (FES) and Kabugwason Elementary School (KES) in Bacolod City and E.B. Magalona Elementary School (EBMES) in E.B. Magalona town and Caduhaan National High School (CNHS) in Cadiz City.
PAGCOR’s latest computer donations in Western Visayas benefited thousands of public school students who are undergoing basic to advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lessons.
The turnover of computer units to the beneficiaries was led by PAGCOR VP for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Jimmy Bondoc. He was joined in the event by officers and staff of Casino Filipino (CF) Bacolod and Commission on Audit (COA) representatives.
Aside from the public schools in Visayas, PAGCOR also recently donated ten computer sets to the Philippine National Police Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS) through DZMM’s radio program “Tandem” with David Oro and Vic Lima.
PNP-IAS Chief Atty. Alfegar Triambulo who received the donations said the computer sets from PAGCOR will help his agency expedite the investigation of cases against erring policemen. Prior to PAGCOR’s donation, PNP-IAS, according to Triambulo only had a handful of desktop computers and 30 laptops for their operations which are nationwide in scope.