A TOTAL of 1,000 PagbaBAGo backpacks containing school supplies and dental kits were given out to Grades 1 and 4 pupils at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex in Barangay Centro on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
The activity marked the launching of the "PagbaBAGo: A Million Learners and Trees" program in Cebu, which was created in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio.
In her speech, Duterte-Carpio that she has been carrying out the program ever since she was the mayor of Davao City.
The said initiative aims to instill the importance of basic education and nurture the right attitude among the students to lead a successful life.
Duterte-Carpio reminded the parents that their kids' chances in life will improve once they find good jobs after finishing their studies.
"Dili ang bag, dili c Inday Sara ang makapabag-o ninyo, dili inyo’ng ginikanan kamu ug inyo’ng mga paningkamut nga mahuman mo ug eskwela," the vice president told the students.
(It's not the bag, it's not Inday Sara who can make you change, nor your parents but your efforts in striving to finish school.)
Improve education system
Some of the parents who came to the event expressed concerns about their kids' poor academic performance in the hopes that DepEd will act on it.
Maria Delar, 39, of Barangay Centro, reported that her two students, who are in grades 1 and 4, respectively, are still having difficulty reading and comprehending the learning materials.
Delar hopes that the DepEd will seek for ways to enhance the kids' character and capacity for learning.
For her part, Barangay Centro resident Irene Mag-abo, 43, is advocating for full face-to-face classes to enhance the pupils' retention and intellectual abilities.
Mandaue City currently allows a mixture of in-person classes and distance learning, particularly when there is a typhoon threat to safeguard the safety of the students.
Mag-abo also shared her difficulties in trying to educate her two grade 4 kids to read, and urged DepEd to prioritize reading classes.
Both parents were pleased when their kids received PagbaBAGo backpacks and school supplies, saying it would help them save money.
Other than Mandaue City, according to Duterte-Carpio, simultaneous distributions also took place in the vice president's satellite offices in Davao, Tandag, Zamboanga, Tacloban, Bacolod, Dagupan, Isabela, Lipa in Batangas, and Tondo in Manila.
The student beneficiaries also received tree seedlings.
The vice president said she was targeting to distribute around 10,000 backpacks during the launching and 1 million backpacks within her six-year term.
Last October 2022, the PagbaBAGo program also benefited around 3,220 students from six remote areas in the country: Limasawa Island in Southern Leyte, Jordan town on Guimaras Island, Caramoan in Camarines Sur, Kidapawan City in North Cotabato, Siquijor Province, Dasmariñas City in Cavite, and Bangued in Abra.
During the activity, Duterte-Carpio was joined by some Mandaue City officials led by Mayor Jonas Cortes. (HIC)