Pagcor releases P2B for classroom project

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) has released an additional P2 billion for its “Matuwid na Daan Silid-Aralan” project, bringing its total contribution to the government’s school building program to a staggering P7 billion.

Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Cristino Naguiat, Jr. said the additional funding will further widen the reach of the project and will benefit more schools in far-flung areas.

“Working closely with the education sector helped us see the plight of public schools in remote areas around the country,” Naguiat said in a statement on Monday.

While he said the classrooms donated by Pagcor have improved the learning conditions of many students, Naguiat said numerous buildings are still needed to completely address the problem on classroom shortage.

“The P7 billion funding for the education sector is a big investment that will benefit the Filipino youth in the years to come,” he pointed out.

Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, head of the Department of Education (DepEd), said that while 66, 800 classroom backlog in 2010 has already been solved, the agency still has to address the need for annual repairs and replacements of classrooms that were built 30 to 50 years ago.

“We have around 500,000 old classrooms that need to be either repaired or replaced. Since we can’t repair or replace the entire 500,000 in one year, we have to prioritize which of these old classrooms urgently need attention,” he said.

Thanks to Pagcor, which Luistro said has been “very committed to its mission to invest in the education of the Filipino youth.”

“In good and in bad times, Pagcor has been our partner in providing better classrooms to students. They have been our biggest and most consistent partner in rebuilding and ensuring that the classrooms of our public school students will outlast the Aquino administration and maybe, our own lifetime,” the statement quoted the Education chief said as saying.

With Pagcor’s initial P2 billion funding released last April 2013, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported that it has completed around 75 percent of the total number of classrooms for construction.

“By 2015, we target to complete 1,070 classrooms. Hopefully, by 2016 we will complete all classrooms to be built using the additional P2 billion allocation that we received from Pagcor today,” DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said.

Singson pointed out that the classrooms built under the school building project were superior in terms of quality.

“Maipagmamalaki natin ang mga Pagcor classrooms na ito. The Pagcor classrooms are a lot better than our margin for a typical classroom. This is a good social infrastructure that we should continue to provide all over the country,” he said.

Apart from the ongoing classroom construction, the DPWH has already repaired around 700 classrooms that were damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 using the funds released by Pagcor. Around 1,293 classrooms in Yolanda-hit areas are either under construction or under procurement.

To formalize Pagcor’s additional P2 billion funding, Naguiat signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DepEd and DPWH heads.

Pagcor said the MOA signalled the fourth phase of the Matuwid na Daan sa Silid-Aralan” project which will set in motion the construction of an additional 1,500 classrooms more or less in different sites all over the country.”

Under the MOA, Pagcor will monitor the progress of the construction of the classrooms while the DepEd will provide the teachers and support staff needed for the operation of the new school buildings; classroom furniture such as chairs and tables; and the maintenance and repairs of the buildings.

DPWH, on the other hand, will build the classrooms and prepare all documentary requirements needed for the construction.

Since the project was launched in 2011, the school building program the three agencies has so far completed a total of 906 classrooms in 201 sites nationwide, while 630 classrooms in 123 sites are under construction using the initial P5 billion funding.

Included in the buildings to be constructed are the 91 classrooms in Bohol which were damaged by the earthquake in October 2013.

Among the areas with completed classrooms include Baguio, Benguet, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Isabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon Province, Antipolo, Rizal, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Albay,  Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Bacolod, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Samar, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Sultan Kudarat.

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