A school building rises from the ashes

BASILAN, Philippines — A classroom is a place where goals and ambitions are formed. But what happens when a place that was supposed to be a haven for dreamers has suddenly turned into ashes? 

That night on August 21, 2001 was one of the big challenges in the life of Rustico Entero, principal of Lo-ok Elementary School in Basilan. It was the height of the Lamitan siege, when the Abu Sayyaf Group attacked the city and burned the school. 

“Nang paalis na sila, may nagpaiwan pang kasama nila na ang intensyon talaga ay sunugin ang school namin. (When the rebels were leaving, one stayed with the intention to burn our school),” Entero said.  

He felt doomed when he saw the school the morning after the incident. The place which served as the student’s beacon of hope was gone in just a snap of a finger.     

“Doon napaiyak ako pagtingin ko. Kinabukasan nandoon na kami lahat ng mga guro,” (When I saw the school, I cried. The next day, I was there with all the teachers) he recalled. “Tinanong ko sila, ‘Paano natin aalagaan ‘yung mga bata na mahigit 200 kung wala na tayo ni isang room?” (I asked them, ‘How can we take care of the more than 200 kids when there is not a single room left?’)

Life goes on

Instead of letting grief and despair take over, Entero and the teachers worked together to think of ways to provide continuous education to the children, despite what happened.  

With the help of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) and barangay officials, Entero and his teachers built makeshift classrooms in a church’s basement and in a barangay hall.

They set up alternative dividers so they could hold multiple classes in one place. 

“Nagkaroon kami ng apat na klase doon sa loob ng basement. Tapos ang dalawang klase namin doon sa barangay hall. (We held four classes inside the basement of a church, and two more in the barangay hall.),” he said.

Classes continued unhampered throughout the school year, but the number of students attending dropped from 200 to 170. Some of them transferred to other schools in adjacent barangays due to the limited resources and uncomfortable environment.

New hope

Entero searched everywhere to find assistance for their situation.  

He first went to the Department of Education (DepEd) Division Office where he learned that a friend who is working the for Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) could help them. He visited them in their makeshift classrooms and from there, things started to become bright again.

In 2002, Petron Foundation through the PBSP donated a school building to Lo-ok Elementary School. The building had two classrooms complete with amenities. According to Entero, they were the most beautiful classrooms at the time.

Entero and the rest of the teachers were very grateful for getting much more than they expected. More than the new schoolbuilding, they had also gotten back their old students who were eager to return with the new facilities. 

Now, Lo-ok Elementary School is one of the top performing schools in the National Achievement Exam in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“Kung ang mga bata nasa ilalim ng kubo lang, wala sigurong bata na magiging interesado sa pag-aaral ulit. (If the classes were held under a makeshift hut, there would be no child who would be interested to study again),” Entero said. – Rappler.com

Maureen Maquiddang is a communications officer of the Philippine Business for Social Progress. PBSP is the largest business-led social development organization in the country committed to poverty reduction. With more than 250 large, small and medium-scale companies as members, PBSP helps uplift the lives of Filipinos through social development programs that focus on Health, Education, the Environment, and Livelihood & Enterprise Development (HEEL).