Chambers of Commerce, LGU-GSC donate 6 classrooms

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (9 March 2015) – Three secondary schools in the city have each became the recipients of two-classroom buildings.

Thanks to the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Inc. (FFCCCII), South Cotabato Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCFCCCII) and the local government unit of General Santos City (LGU-GSC).

The fully furnished classrooms were successively turned over to General Santos City National High School (GSCNHS), North High School, and General Santos National School of Arts and Trades (GSNSAT) on February 28.

Each classroom also came with 50 plastic mono-block chairs.

Alfonso Sy, president of the FFCCCII, who was present in all turnover ceremonies, said that they are glad to help the local government, especially in its advocacy to provide quality education.

It was City Mayor Ronnel Rivera’s initiative to ask FFCCCII and SCFCCCII if they can donate classrooms in the city.

Last July 2014, the mayor’s request was granted by these Filipino-Chinese businessmen through a signing of Memorandum of Agreement that took place at Greenleaf Hotel.

Each of the classroom buildings cost around P800,000. The LGU-GSC gave a counterpart of P400,000.

When Mayor Rivera assumed office in 2013, he acknowledged the insufficiency of classrooms, chairs, and other facilities in the city’s public schools.

“I know that our public schools are really needy despite the effort of the Department of Education (DepEd) to sustain the inadequacies,” Mayor Rivera said.

“That is why I made sure that the local government of Gensan will be the prime partner of DepEd so that we can give quality education to our children,” the mayor added.

Data from DepEd Gensan shows that the city’s public schools have 340 classrooms and 14,000 armchairs shortages.

Mayor Rivera, in his personal initiative, has donated 7,000 armchairs and targets to increase the number to 12,000 with the help of some private companies.

DepEd Gensan Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) Gildo Mosqueda expressed his gratitude to Mayor Rivera for prioritizing the needs of the educational system of the city.

“We are always thankful to the support Mayor Rivera and the local government of Gensan gave to DepEd. I personally admit that we cannot do it alone. That is the reason we need these kinds of partnership to strengthen the academic standards of Gensan,” Mosqueda said.

Mosqueda promised to do DepEd’s part in implementing quality education in the schools of Gensan. (Gensan CPIO/ Ian John Lagare)