SCHOOL FOR IP KIDS. Col. Ruben Delos Santos (center), the director of Agusan del Sur Police Provincial Office, leads the turnover of a two-classroom building for the pupils of Sitio, Durian, an IP community in Barangay Lucac, San Francisco town on Tuesday (Nov. 23, 2021). The school facility, formally received by Datu Abog Makabuhay Maguinda (right) and other school officials in the area, was built through the support of the town government and the private sector. (Photo courtesy of Agusan del Sur Pulis FB page)
BUTUAN CITY – The Agusan del Sur Police Provincial Office (ADSPPO) has formally turned over a two-classroom building intended for Grades 3 and 4 pupils in Sitio Durian, Barangay Lucac, San Francisco town.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Col. Ruben Delos Santos, the provincial police director, said the school building was completed with the support of different stakeholders in the province and the local government unit (LGU) of San Francisco.
The initiative, he added, is part of the advocacy of the ADSPPO through its “School Mo, Sagot ng ADSPPO program."
“The school building will benefit around 60 pupils who are children of the members of Durian Matam Settlers Farmers Association. Most of the members belong to the indigenous people (IP) Manobo community in the area,” Delos Santos said.
The school facility was completed last week and was formally handed over by ADSPPO to the school and local officials of Sitio Durian on Tuesday.
It was formally received by Janet Maguinda, the teacher-in-charge, and Datu Abog Makabuhay Maguinda, the IP leader of Sitio Durian.
The building has a total cost of over PHP350,000 funded through the support of LGU San Francisco, the private groups who are partners of the ADSPPO, and other line agencies of the government, specifically the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the province.
“The LGU San Francisco appropriated some PHP200,000 budget for the project, while the PERA Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the ADSPPO Provincial Advisory Council with over PHP100,000 financial aid, and the DENR with the donations of lumbers,” Delos Santos said.
He added that the ADSPPO will continue to reach out to other far-flung communities in Agusan del Sur under the “School Mo, Sagot ng ADSPPO Program."
Also, the ADSPPO is working to gather more support from other stakeholders, especially the private sector, for the program.
“Several private organizations have already reached out to us for possible collaborations to the ADSPPO school program. We are seeing more projects for our school children next year,” Delos Santos said. (PNA)
