Almario urges DepEd to promote RA 8525

Taking heed to the dire need of a suitable environment for students in the typhoon-struck district of Davao Oriental, Vice Governor Mayo Z. Almario called on the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Davao Oriental to get serious in actively promoting Republic Act No. 8525 or the Adopt-A-School Act of 1998.
The Adopt-A-School Act of 1998 was enacted to seek help from the private sector in the upgrading and modernization of public schools through, among others, construction and/or development of school infrastructures, improvement of school human resource and upgrading of instructional materials and technologies, with primary focus in schools situated in poverty-stricken provinces.
Given the current condition of the education facilities in the 1st district, particularly in the municipalities of Boston, Cateel and Baganga, which were devastated by the super-typhoon “Pablo”, now is the “most appropriate time” for the DepEd Division to encourage private enterprises in investing to the “rehabilitation and improvement of any public school in the province” – as posted by Almario in the Vice Governor’s Office (VGO)’s Facebook account.
Vice Gov. Almario added that if DepEd pursues this measure seriously, it is most likely that many from the private sector will be more than interested to take part in this project; primarily, because it forms part of their corporate social responsibility, and secondly – as a bonus – because of the very promising incentives the adopting entities may avail therefrom. After all, from the words of former DepEd Secretary Edilberto de Jesus, “Basic education is too big and too important a task to leave to the government.”