SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija—The Land Bank of the Philippines Inc. (LandBank) announced granting the City Government of San Jose a P272-million loan for the construction of new public school buildings.
In a statement, the state-run lender said the San Jose local government unit will use the loan to build 18 new public school buildings, 15 of which are allotted for elementary schools, two for secondary schools and one for an integrated school.
The lender said the project is expected to be implemented in 15 different barangays, including areas with high incidence of drop-outs due to the lack of nearby educational facilities and high education cost incurred by mostly farmer-parents.
Once completed and operational, the new school buildings is expected to provide 115 additional classrooms to around 4,025 students at an ideal classroom to student ratio of 1:33. This will help accommodate more students, from 33,357 to 37,382, who mostly come from families of farmers, regular fixed income earners, and micro and small entrepreneurs. The project will also benefit the local economy by generating new employment to 72 additional teachers, the Landbank statement read.
San Jose City Mayor Mario O. Salvador and LandBank Nueva Ecija Lending Center Head, Vice President Eduardo N. Reyes, Jr. led the ceremonial signing of the loan agreement on 25 April 2023. They were joined by City Treasurer Arnold A. Escuadro, Landbank San Jose Branch Head Imelda G. Eusebio, and Account Officer Ruben A. Laureta.
The mayor expressed gratitude for the lender’s support in the project.
LandBank said it has been a partner of the San Jose LGU since 2002 in delivering responsive and meaningful public services. The bank said it has previously supported local development projects that include the acquisition of heavy equipment and the construction of a public market, farm-to-market roads, school buildings, overflow bridge and other facilities.