Thousands of typhoon Yolanda victims to get relief goods from Philippine gaming industry
Thursday | September 26, 2013 | 3:35 PM
NOTHING is wasted when put to good use especially if so many will benefit from it.
Grade three pupils of Aguinaldo Elementary School in Kawit, Cavite now make use of sturdy school desks that have enough elbow room. The school desks, which are made out of old slot machine stands used in the Casino Filipino branches in Metro Manila, help address the shortage of classroom furniture in several public learning institutions.
This is what the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) adheres to as the agency continues to recycle its old slot machine stands into school desks instead of simply discarding them. These fabricated desks are then donated to public schools in depressed localities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
According to Maricar Bautista, PAGCOR’s Assistant VP for Corporate Communications, the state-run gaming firm is perhaps the only casino operator in the world that utilizes discarded parts from old slot machine stands to produce functional school desks. “We collect the old wooden stands of our slot machines from our Casino Filipino branches in Metro Manila and they are brought to PAGCOR’s Imus warehouse in Cavite for fabrication. We have been doing this since 2010 as part of our contribution to help address the shortage of classroom furniture in our public learning institutions,” Bautista added.
“This is another testament to Filipino ingenuity. As we often say, only in the Philippines can we find such a unique idea. Walang tapon ang bawa’t piraso ng slot machine stand. Every piece is utilized to make school desks. At dahil matibay ang kahoy na gamit namin dito, matibay ang produktong school desk ng PAGCOR,” Bautista cited.
STUDENTS of Gahak Marulas Elementary School in Kawit, Cavite are among the thousands of public school students who are benefiting from the sturdy and spacious school desks made by PAGCOR using its old slot machine stands.
To date, PAGCOR has already distributed 1,160 school desks made out of old slot machine stands to 19 state-subsidized schools. The desks being fabricated by PAGCOR consist of the two-seater and three-seater type, depending on the needs of the requesting schools. Those with small classrooms usually request for the three-seater type to be able to accommodate more pupils. Each unit has enough elbow room to provide the students ease and comfort during class hours.
The cost per fabricated school desk is roughly P600. This is much cheaper compared to school chairs sold commercially which range from P2,000 to P2,500 per unit.
Among the recent recipients of PAGCOR’s school desks are two day care centers and three public elementary schools in Pasay City, Cavite and Oriental Mindoro.
PAGCOR supplied 100 two-seater desks to Benito Villar Elementary School in Baco, Oriental Mindoro. On the other hand, Aguinaldo Elementary School and Gov. D.M. Camerino Elementary School - both in the province of Cavite – each received 80 two-seater desks. The Regal Day Care Center, also located in Cavite, was awarded 25 units of three-seater desks, while Barangay 7 Day Care Center in Pasay City got 10 three-seater desks.
THE grade six pupils of Gov. D.M. Camerino Elementary School in Imus, Cavite are all smiles while attending their class as they enjoy the comfortable school desks made by PAGCOR. The desks were manufactured using the discarded wooden frames of the old slot machine stands coming from the agency’s Casino Filipino branches in Metro Manila.
Regal Homes Day Care Center teacher Magie Taccad cheerfully noted that the school desks donated by PAGCOR make learning easier for her 84 pupils. “Dati, dahil magaan ang mga plastic na mesa at upuan na gamit namin, laging nagagalaw kaya’t hindi makapag-focus ang mga bata tuwing klase. Ngayon, nabawasan ang kalikutan nila dahil hindi basta mauurong ang mga school desk na gawa ng PAGCOR dahil matibay at mabigat,” Taccad explained.
Day Care Worker Nida Zablan of Barangay 7 Day Care Center in Pasay City shared Taccad’s observation, saying the PAGCOR school desks were perfect replacement to their plastic classroom furniture as they are safer to use by toddlers.
“May pagkakataon kasi na may isang batang nadisgrasya nang tumuntong sa plastic chair kaya’t naisip kong mas maganda kung ang upuan nila eh yung matibay at hindi basta-basta mahahatak. Mabuti at napagbigyan ng PAGCOR ang hiling namin na school desk na bukod sa napakaganda na ay makikinis pa kaya’t talagang komportable ang mga bata sa kanilang pag-aaral,” Zablan related.
The pupils of Barangay 7 Day Care Center in Pasay City are the recent beneficiaries of school desks that were fabricated by PAGCOR using the old slot machine stands in its casino branches.
Apart from recycling school desks out of old slot machine stands, PAGCOR is also actively involved in the Pnoy Bayanihan Project which manufactures school chairs for public schools using confiscated illegal logs. The project is a worthy endeavor that PAGCOR jointly undertakes with the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Among the most recent beneficiaries of the Pnoy Bayanihan project are the San Antonio Elementary School in Quezon City (500 armchairs) and the Upper Bicutan Elementary School in Taguig City (200 armchairs). The number of donated armchairs already covered the actual backlog in school chairs of these public schools.