Group pledges P1.9M for classrooms

IN A bid to help the government address the shortage of classrooms in the country, the Ayala Business Club Cebu Inc. (ABCCI) yesterday announced it has pledged P1.9 million to build classrooms in public schools.

The initial pledge, according to ABCCI president Manuel Gordon, will enable them to build at least three classrooms, under the fundraising program called The Entire Nation (TEN) Moves.

The money generated were donations of local corporations and organizations here.

TEN Moves is part of the private-led initiative Bayanihang Pampaaralan. The campaign seeks donations of ordinary Filipinos to help build 10,000 public classrooms by donating P10 a day in 10 months.

Campaign

Ten Moves hopes to tap two million Filipinos to participate in this fund-raising campaign.

Ayala Foundation Inc. manages the retail fundraising campaign on behalf of the 57-75 Education Reform Movement, a movement formed by companies and conglomerates in the country to improve the educational system of the country.

Gordon hopes to tap the member-companies of the various business chambers in Cebu to encourage not only their respective companies but also their employees to become part in addressing the shortage of classrooms.

Solid education

He said TEN Moves is one step to ensuring that Filipino children have a solid education foundation, through environments that support and encourage learning, regardless of their age, heritage or location.

As of July, Bayanihang Pampaaralan reports a total of 2,741 classrooms donated and pledged, of which 880 have already been built.

Gordon said interested donors may donate online by visiting the website www.tenmoves.org; or through banks like UnionBank, Banco de Oro and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

According to the Philippine Business for Social Progress executive director Rafael Lopa, the 10,000 new classrooms will be built across the country, specifically in the 40 most challenges school divisions, as identified by DepEd.

In the Visayas, the target school divisions are in Negros Oriental and Occidental, Samar and Leyte.

Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC reported that of the 66,800 recorded classroom backlog, some 22, 781 classrooms were already built through the national and local government funds and some donations from the private sector.