26 Dec 2014 – In underserved municipalities of Western Visayas, two two- storey schoolbuildings were built, one for the Lantangan Elementary School in Pontevedra, Capiz and another for the Ibajay National High School in Ibajay, Aklan.

The municipalities were badly hit by killer winds of Typhoon Yolanda damaging not only houses but also school buildings. Initial repairs were done by local government units, but many of the buildings were beyond repair.

A call for help from DepEd to private organizations resulted in the partnership of SM Foundation Inc. ( SMFI) and BDO Foundation (BDOF) to build fully equipped twostorey, four-classroom school buildings in these municipalities.

Last Dec. 15 a school building with toilets and furniture was turned over by Maureen Abelardo, president of BDOF, Carmen Linda Atayde, executive director for education of SMFI and Troy Camarista, PR Manager of SM City Iloilo representing SM Prime Holdings, Inc. to head teacher and school principal Jocelyn Lubao of Lantangan Elementary School, witnessed by local offi cials led by Mayor Esteban Jose Contreras and DepEd officials.

The 8,328 sqm property where the school stands, a donation of the Hontiveros family of Capiz, houses 384 K to Grade 6 students from Barangays Lantagan, Sitio Hamlid, Viscaya, and nearby municipality, Pres. Roxas.

The following day, Dec. 16, the two- storey, fourclassroom school building of Ibajay National High School was inaugurated and turned over to school officials led by school principal Melvin Serrano and Ibajay Mayor Ma. Lourdes Miraflores.

Ibajay National has a population of 650 students enrolled in Grades 7 to 10.

Next year the school will accommodate students who will be enrolled in the two years additional schooling prescribed in the new curriculum.

The new school building will also serve as venue for the special program in arts for students of the school who are talented and inclined in the arts. This program is a curriculum innovation of DepEd that gives emphasis in music, arts, dance, media arts, visual arts and creative writing.

After graduation, the students may opt to go to the Western Visayas State University in Iloilo to pursue further programs in arts or enrol in the nearby Aklan State University, Ibajay Campus.

The new structures bring to 63 with 168 classrooms the number of schoolbuildings contributed by SM Foundation and its partners to the Adopt-A-School Program of the Department of Education.