In fulfillment of the decades’ worth dedication to the development of the Filipino community, the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industries, Inc. continues to showcase their support to the education of the city. On November 7, the Baguio Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. turned over three classrooms under the “Operation: Barrio Schools” program to Lucban Elementary School donated by Hotel Supreme under its President, Peter Ng.
The program kicked off with the ribbon-cutting attended by FFCCCII Officers, BFCCCI Officers, City Officials, the Lucban School Principal, and the barangay captain. After a quick invocation and a welcome message from Principal Joseph Estigoy, Baguio City Council Chairman of Education Vladimir Cayabas stepped onstage to deliver a sincere note of gratitude.
OIC Assistant City Schools Division Superintendent Soraya Faculo then followed, echoing the importance of this legacy. “Yung contribution natin sa education is something very crucial,” Soraya said. She explained that according to research, this directly affects the income of the community. “It gives that opportunity for the community to grow because there are more educated people who can have better jobs,” she said. “This very important legacy that you leave to the learners is equivalent to giving a house to the homeless.”
In addition to Lucban Elementary School, Ng also partnered with previous BFCCCI president Alex Sia to provide two more classrooms for Dontogan Elementary School.
‘Operation: Barrio Schools’ and the Continued Support to Children’s Future
Lucban Elementary School is the latest school to receive a turnover from the FFCCCII under the “Operation: Barrio Schools” program. In 2018, six other schools in Baguio City were included in the program, according to the Philippine News Agency. These are the Elpidio Quirino Elementary School, Middle Quezon Hill Elementary School, Gibraltar Elementary School, Sto. Tomas High School, Quezon Elementary School, and Pacday Quiño Elementary School. The school buildings—comprised of two classrooms each—were completed in six months with various contributions from community residents.
This program started in 1960 and is now the longest-running private sector-led school building construction program in the country. It has been providing school buildings in regions throughout the country to augment the country’s lack of classrooms through donations from the FFCCCII members and different organizations within the Filipino-Chinese community.
During its first decade, the program built 100 school buildings according to the FFCCCII. Now, they have more than 10,000 school buildings all over the country.