A total of 24 school infrastructure projects in Manila worth more than P260 million are set to be completed within the year, in line with Mayor Joseph Estrada’s continuing education reform program.
Estrada said public school students in the city can only expect the best facilities and equipment in the coming years as his administration is bent on pursuing more projects to “level up” Manila’s public education system.
“As our passion to provide quality education to our children grows, the more we need to level up the state of our school buildings, facilities, and equipment, as well as our entire educational program,” Estrada said.
Now on his fourth year as the city mayor, Estrada reiterated his earlier vow to do more than his level best to make Manila’s 33 public high schools, 72 elementary schools, and two city-run universities at par with top private schools in the country.
According to the Office of the City Engineer, the school projects in various stages of completion, with a total project cost of P264.29 million, are expected to be finished before end-2017.
Foremost of these projects are the P39-million full rehabilitation of Cecilio Apostol Elementary School in F. Yuseco Street, Sta. Cruz and the construction of a three-storey classroom building at Barrio Obrero Elementary School in Narra Extension, Tondo, worth P10.4 million.
Last month, before the resumption of classes, Estrada inaugurated two school buildings at Gregorio Del Pilar Elementary School at the corner of CM Recto Avenue and Jose Abad Santos that were razed by fire on February 17, 2015. The construction cost P222 million.
Aside from the construction of new classrooms and the repair of old buildings, this year’s school projects include the repair and rehabilitation of fire protection systems, installation of new roofing, construction and improvement of perimeter fences, comfort rooms, steel doors and gates of various elementary and high schools in the city.
Education is one of Estrada’s priority programs. For 2017, he has allocated more than P2 billion to the city’s Special Educational Fund to finance the construction of additional school infrastructures and other related programs.
In 2016, Estrada constructed and repaired 45 school buildings in various public elementary and secondary schools in the city totaling P2.54 billion to improve the quality of education being given to poor students.
Of the 45 school building projects, 13 were new structures worth a total of P828.23 million; the rest were repair and rehabilitation works worth P1.72 billion, according to the Office of the City Engineer.
In 2015, the city mayor also completed 44 school infrastructure projects—32 of which have been completed—with a total project cost of P1.49 billion.
For the two-year period, the city government completed 87 school building projects with total project costs of P4.03 billion.
Estrada said it was only during his term that Manila public school teachers had their monthly allowances from the city government increased from P2,000 to P3,000.
Estrada has also distributed computer tablets with installed instructional materials to some 11,000 teachers to enable them to improve their classroom instruction.
For 2017, Estrada has also set aside P7.3 million as cash incentives for the Top 5 percent of the graduating classes and Top 3 percent of current Grade 6 and 7 students, according to Division of City Schools-Manila Superintendent Wilfredo Cabral.
A total of 1,189 students received the cash gifts, including those who graduated last March. First honor students were given P10,000; P7,000 for the 2nd; P6,000 for the 3rd; and P5,000 and P4,000 for the 4th and 5th Honors.