Japan constructs classrooms in Masbate, Agusan

With Japan's help, some 2,000 students in Milagros town in Masbate and Talacogon in Agusan del Sur can now attend classes in decent classrooms. Officials of the two towns signed a contract with the Japanese government over the weekend for grants funding the construction and renovation of school buildings. Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe signed two grant contracts with Milagros Mayor Natividad Isabel Magbalon and Talacogon Central Elementary School principal Joevanie Bebero. The construction and renovation of school buildings for John Miller and Magsalangi Elementary Schools and the construction of six classrooms for Talacogon Central Elementary School amount to $211,401 (P9.1 million). These are to be funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), the Japanese Embassy said. The embassy also said Masbate and Agusan del Sur were listed in the top 10 poorest provinces in the Philippines during the last decade. It cited 2009 statistics of the National Statistical and Coordination Board showing poverty incidence was 42.5 percent and 51.2 percent in Masbate and Agusan del Sur, respectively. Both provinces cannot afford to pay enough attention to basic social services including education, it noted. P4.8 million for Milagros In Milagros in Masbate, John Miller Elementary School in Barangay Bangad and Magsalangi Elementary School in the coastal barangay of Magsalangi have urgent need for the construction and renovation of classrooms. "John Miller Elementary School is using makeshift and dilapidated classrooms to accommodate its growing number of students. On the other hand, Magsalangi Elementary School, established in 1937 and considered to be the oldest school in the Municipality, has classrooms that are already condemnable and thus pose threat to its students," the embassy said. It said a grant assistance of $113,190 (P4.8 million) will help build four classrooms in John Miller Elementary School, and three in Magsalangi Elementary School. The classrooms will also be provided with armchairs, blackboards, teacher's tables and chairs. The Milagros municipal government will also repair two classrooms and five classrooms, respectively. P4.3 million for Talacogon On the other hand, the Talacogon Central Elementary School is the only school in the town that offers the Special Education (SPED) program to poor students with disabilities and special needs. But because of the school’s old structures, the students are forced to hold classes in dilapidated classrooms which are in dire need of repair. Worse, the increasing enrolment has resulted in a classroom shortage that forced the students to use rooms such as a library and a stockroom for their classes. The embassy said a grant assistance of $98,211 (P4.3 million) will let the school construct a new six-classroom building. The classrooms will also be provided with armchairs, blackboards, teacher's tables and chairs. The Japanese government, as the top Official Development Assistance (ODA) donor for the Philippines, launched the GGP in the Philippines in 1989 to reduce poverty and help communities engaged in grassroots activities. As of October 2011, 453 grassroots projects funded by GGP, ranging from P1 million to P4 million pesos, have been implemented by NGOs, local government units and other non-profit organizations. The total grant for these projects so far amounts to $20,943,230. "Japan believes that this project will strengthen not only friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines but also the existing strategic partnership between Japan and the Philippines," the embassy said. — KG/RSJ, GMA News