BAGUIO CITY Six public elementary schools in the city were able to benefit from the Pailaw sa Paaralan program, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) intervention of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO), to guarantee a conducive learning for environment for the hundreds of pupils enrolled in the said institutions.
In his letter to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, BENECO general manager Gerardo P. Verzosa revealed that the schools that were able to initially benefit from the program include the Dontogan Elementary School, Quezon Hill Elementary School, Pacday Quinio Elementary School, San Carlos Elementary School, Adiwang Elementary School and Bonifacio Elementary School.
Verzosa added that the schools that will be included under the program in the future include the Joaquin Smith Elementary School, Camp 7 Elementary School. Lindawan Elementary School, Doña Aurora Elementary School and Rizal Elementary School Extension.
Under BENECO’s Pailaw sa Paaralan program, the electrical facilities of the schools are put in place by technical personnel to guarantee that the said institutions comply with the pertinent provisions of the Philippine Electrical code among other existing laws, rules and regulations for the safety and protection of the students and teachers.
Engr. Melchor Licoben, manager of BENECO’s network services department, said the program is fully funded under the rural electric Cooperative’s CSR interventions to help improve the energization and lighting of the different public schools in Baguio and Benguet.
For schools that benefited from the program in the city, Licoben explained that the institutions have already existing electrical connections and what BENECO had done was to improve the electrical connections in the classrooms aside from other installations to guarantee the safety of the connections pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations while in Benguet, the program was for the full energization of the different schools that were located in remote communities in the province.
He explained that for schools that are interested to avail of the cooperative’s Pailaw sa Paaralan program, school officials are required to write BENECO regarding their interest to avail of the benefits of the program wherein technical personnel will be tasked to evaluate and assess the present condition of the schools for the preparation of the needed programs of work for the necessary activities that will be done under the program.
According to him, the implementation of the projects in the identified beneficiaries of the Pailaw sa Paaralan program will depend on the funds that will be made available by BENECO under the said CSR program, thus, the prioritization of the schools that will be provided the assistance will depend on the need of the schools to guarantee the availability of electricity beneficial in delivering quality basic education.
The BENECO official expressed confidence that there will be more public schools that will benefit from the program in the coming years once there will be added funds that will be earmarked for the purpose of assisting the government in providing quality basic education to the students.
By Dexter A. See
