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Friday, March 29, 2024

Mayor Pursues Creation Of ‘Bacolod City Elem. School’

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Mayor Evelio Leonardia is pursuing, through the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), the naming of a facility in Barangay 16 into “Bacolod City Elementary School.”

Leonardia had written Education Secretary Leonor Briones on September 3, 2018 requesting the

DepEd to name the 36-classroom facility into “Bacolod City Elementary School.”

On Sept. 5, DepEd Bacolod Schools Division sSuperintendent Cynthia Demavivas endorsed the mayor’s letter to the DepEd Secretary, stating “no objection to the proposal.”

The 3-storey facility, now commonly called ETCS 4, is located at the reclaimed area in Barangay 16. The P39-million building is now being used by a mix of more than 1,600 pupils from ETCS 1, 2, and 3, and there is a plan to create a new school using this facility, the mayor said.

Leonardia told Briones it is high time that Bacolod has an elementary school that proudly bears her name, especially now that it’s her 80th year as a city. This will also give the present and future students a new sense of identity and pride as Bacolodnons, he added.

On Sept. 29, Education Assistant Secretary Revsee Escobedo, in a memorandum to Briones, said that the DepEd need not interpose any objection to the proposal.

Escobedo also wrote the mayor on Oct. 19 reiterating the position of the DepEd.

“The Department has looked into the legal implications as well as the feasibility of your proposition, and interposes no objection to the proposal,” the assistant secretary said.

Escobedo, however, pointed out that “a favorable recommendation from the Local School Board is required, in compliance with the Local Government Code (Republic Act No. 7160), and subsequent issuance of an ordinance by the Sangguniang Panlungsod to formalize the renaming, is needed.”

“With Councilor Renecito Novero as chairman of the SP Committee on Education, we foresee smooth sailing for this proposition,” the mayor stressed.

PARTNERSHIP.

In 2011, upon the agreement of Leonardia and then Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Bacolod became the first city in the country to have an agreement with the DepEd on the “50-50 scheme” for school construction.

This means the city government will build 24 classrooms, while DepEd will build another 24 or a total of 48 classrooms.

The city constructed its 24-classroom share, while the DepEd constructed 12 classrooms, for a total of 36 so far. DepEd is expected to provide 12 more.

The school building was one of the priority projects of Leonardia during his fourth term as mayor from 2010 to 2013. It was finished towards the end of his term in 2013.

However, for three long years, it was never opened by then mayor Monico Puentevella from 2013 to 2016. It was only when Leonardia came back as mayor when the facility was eventually used in June 2017.* (City PIO/NDB)

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