KAYAPA, Nueva Vizcaya—Brigada Eskwela is the time for the nation to unite after the “divisive election campaign period” to benefit not just the schools, but the whole community, Education Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC, said.
“Hinihikayat natin ang buong bayan na magsama-sama [for Brigada Eskwela]. Ang eleksyon ay nagdadala ng hidwaan sa ating bayan…. Ang panawagan po ng Brigada Eskwela sa taong ito, lalo na pagkatapos ng isang divisive election campaign period, is for Filipinos to come together. Iba man po ang ating ibinoto, ang kagustuhan ng taumbayan ang ating nirerespeto. At ‘pag nabigyan na ng proklamasyon, ang ating katungkulan ay sundan ang kagustuhan ng bayan at suportahan ang mga nanalo,” Luistro said in his speech during the kick off of Brigada Eskwela in Santa Cruz National High School here.
With the Brigada Eskwela 2016 kickoff and the preparation for the opening of classes on June 13, various partners from the private sector donated boats, bicycles, solar-powered lamps and school supplies that amounted to at least P8.4 million. The San Miguel Foundation Inc. donated 1,000 bicycles worth P3 million for several schools nationwide. At least 81 bicycles were distributed to students of Santa Cruz Pingkian National High School, while 150 bicycles were given out to students of Kakiduguen National High School in Nueva Vizcaya.Meanwhile, a boat was donated by Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. to ferry 24 children to and from school in a remote community in Nueva Vizcaya. The Icad Foundation donated 1,443 solar lamps, while the One Meralco Foundation Inc. (OMF) donated 10,000 lamps for 150 schools across the Philippines through its One Child, One Lamp Program.
Forty students from the Pingkian Central Elementary School who do not have electricity in their homes received solar lamps to help them travel safely to and from school, as well as assist in their studies at home. The OMF will also donate lamps to 19 other schools across Cagayan Valley. It distributed 250 solar lamps to public schools in Benguet on May 14, when Manila Electric Company employees participated in the annual Cordillera Challenge. The rest of the school recipients will come from various provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, and will go as far as Tawi-Tawi.
The OMF strengthens its advocacy on education and continues to partner with the Department of Education (DepEd) through various school-electrification programs. To date, it has energized 131 public schools utilizing solar-power technology, which benefit over 31,000 students from all over the country. The Latter Days Saint Charities also donated a total of 2,825 solar-powered lamps worth P847,500.
The National Bookstore Foundation Inc. donated an additional 5,000 sets of school supplies and also pledged to build libraries in five schools in Nueva Vizcaya. The donations amounted to P8,397,500, benefiting thousands of students from various elementary and secondary schools.
The bicycles, boats, solar lamps and ceremonial library key were turned over to the DepEd officials at Santa Cruz Pingkian National High School, Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya, where the Brigada Eskwela 2016 natonal kickoff program was held. Brigada Eskwela is a nationwide program that aims to bring together teachers, parents and community members to prepare schools for the start of classes in June. In his welcoming remarks, DepEd Nueva Vizcaya Schools Division Supt. Samuel Soliven expressed gratitude to all the donors “who have come here to share their resources to the last, the least and the lost.”
DepEd Region II Regional Director Estela Cariño said she is deeply thankful for giving her office the chance to hold the Brigada Eskwela kickoff program before Luistro steps down as education chief.
Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages Mario Deriquito said the kickoff of Brigada Eskwela is being brought to different regions to convey the message that “Brigada Eskwela is for all.”
“We have been doing this for 14 years since 2003. Let us make sure that everything in our schools gets fixed. Let us emphasize and give priority to safety. Let us identify the underserved schools, and let us help them,” he said.