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Bacolod City, Philippines Tuesday, November 27, 2012
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Guv raises funds for NOHS,
2,600 join thanksgiving rites

BY
CARLA GOMEZ

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday morning assured that replacement classrooms will be built at the Negros Occidental High School in Bacolod City despite the denial by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of his request to avail of a P10 million bank loan for the purpose, bringing tears to the eyes of some NOHS teachers present.

About 2,600 NOHS faculty, students, parents and alumni, who were set to stage a rally to appeal to the provincial government officials to act on their classroom needs, last night, instead, lit candles and said prayers of thanksgiving in front of the provincial Capitol in Bacolod City, school principal Mario Amaca said.

The NOHS community is very thankful to the governor for finding the means to build the six classrooms, he said.

Marañon told the NOHS teachers and students, who were at the provincial Capitol for the signing of a memorandum of agreement on cyber training yesterday morning, that five Negros Occidental board members are allocating P100,000 each from their budgets, while he and 15 department heads are giving up their Representation and Transportation Allowances for December to jump-start the raising of the P10 million needed.

The funds to be allocated by the five board members – Miller Serondo, Nehemias de la Cruz, Salvador Escalante, Melvin Ibañez and Jose Benito Alonso – who were outvoted on Marañon’s request for authority to avail of the P10 million loan, and the December RATA will amount to P750,000.

The governor said private individuals and NOHS alumni have also committed to help raise the needed funds.

The governor said amounts given to the provincial government for various awards it received, as well as savings for 2012, will also be sourced to raise the P10 million.

“I am very sure we can raise the P10 million and if we have enough funds, we will return the RATA the department heads are offering to give,” he said.

The board members, who voted against the loan earlier, said they were not against the building of the six classrooms, and suggested that funds be taken from the School Board.

The governor, however, pointed out that the School Board funds for this year had been used up and it would mean having to wait for the 2013 budget that would delay construction of the classrooms.

Board Member Mae Javellana said what they are against is obtaining a loan because of the interest the provincial government will have to pay, which can be saved if the school buildings are built with existing Capitol funds.

MOA SIGNING

Marañon and Negros Occidental Division Schools Superintendent Juliet Jeruta yesterday morning signed a memorandum of agreement for the implementation of a model project for NOHS senior high school students through a tie-up with the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center.

NOLITC trainers will make their expertise available to NOHS students under their Contact Center Services Course, as well as the use of the center’s venue and facilities.

The governor also signed a MOA with PanAsiatic, represented by Therese Lonasco, for the firm’s partnership with NOLITC in call center job training and hiring.

Jeruta said the NOHS prayer and candle-lighting ceremony at the Capitol last night was in celebration of the MOA signing and to express their hopes that more hearts will be touched to help generate resources for the six replacement classrooms.

NOHS is under the Negros Occidental Schools Division.

CLASSROOM NEEDS

She said the Department of Education is also responding to the classroom needs of schools in Negros Occidental.

All district supervisors have been invited to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan session tomorrow at the Capitol to determine the classroom needs of the whole province, she said.

At a press conference at NOHS yesterday afternoon, Amaca along with Supreme Student Government president Carlo Ramos, department head representative Liza Asan, General Parents Teachers Association president Danilo Diaz, faculty president Glen Noel Donesa, and Cerilo Sacepuedes of the alumni foundation thanked the governor and those who committed funds for the six replacement classrooms.

They also explained that the six classrooms are to be replacements for those torn down to give way for a 24-classroom two-storey building being built by the provincial government for NOHS.

That will mean the provincial government is providing the school with 30 classrooms.

Amaca explained that the foundation for the classrooms being built by the provincial government will allow DepEd to add third and fourth floors to the building in the future.

Lack of space in the NOHS campus is the reason why vertical construction of classrooms is needed, he said.

The classrooms, aside from having very sturdy foundations, are also bigger than regular ones that will be used for classes in the arts, among others, he said.

Amaca took the media on a tour of the campus to show how many classes are being held at shed houses because of lack of classrooms.

This means teachers becoming hoarse from having to shout when they teach, and students being exposed to the rain, heat, dust and noise, he said.*CPG

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