BDO Unibank Inc. and BDO Foundation (BDOF) Chairman Teresita Sy-Coson (center) said the bank and SMGroup are focusing their resources in remoter areas of provinces hit by Supertyphoon Yolanda in November 2013, with particular emphasis on schools and scholarship programs, hospitals and health-care centers, multipurpose centers and even housing. Sy-Coson made the remark after the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA)with Washington based US Philippine Society, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been actively helping Yolanda victims.

But for rehabilitating schools destroyed by Yolanda, she said, the group matches whatever pledges are made to ensure that financial resources are optimized and spread out to other underserved areas in Yolanda.

Sy-Coson said the SM Group has allotted P200 million in rehabilitation programs for Yolanda-affected areas in collaboration with other donors and local or foreign NGOs that have program.s similar to SM Group.

This, she said, despite the fact that there is no SM mall in the Yolanda-affected provinces.

Just recently she went to Tacloban for the launching of the SM-funded Tacloban City Hospital and she plans to keep going to the Yolanda-affected provinces, particularly in areas that branches of the conglomerate operating in these provinces have identified as underserved or unserved.

The partners chose to rehabilitate the Pandan Central School in Antique by building a two-story four-classroom school that can easily house 200 students (of 1,000 -enrolled students). This building has been leveled to the ground by the strong winds and floods that swept through Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Masbate, Romblon and Palawan).

The Pandan Central School is also home to one of the heritage Gabaldon elementary schools built by the Thomasites during the American occupation that consisted of nine classrooms, a library, a property room, a principal’s office and an assembly hall. The Pandan Central School is a center of excellence in the division of Antique and Western Visayas that also offers a special-education curriculum.

The US Philippine Society (USPS) held a fundraising concert entitled “After the Storm” during the Philippine Independence Day celebration in Washington to help finance post-Yolanda rehabilitation activities in the country in partnership with established local groups like BDOF, which has been actively assisting Yolanda victims in Western Visayas from relief to reconstruction stages.

The destroyed Pandan Central School has a total population of 1,000 students although the school to be built by the partnership can hold 200 students. The school compound is so big, some classes can be held anywhere. It also has a special school for special and exceptional children. 

Maureen Abelardo, president of BDOF, said the school building will be constructed by a local contractor in accordance with the design of the Department of Education but adding typhoon-resistant features. She said the building would be finished in three months.

Abelardo furthermore said that BDOF and SM Foundation have been active in the rehabilitation efforts in the 10 provinces at the storm’s track namely, Northern Samar, Western Samar, Northern Cebu, Leyte, Iloilo, Antique, Capiz and Aklan.

BDO does not have a branch in Eastern Samar (Guiuan the worst hit by Yolanda), which is why it could not yet get into rehab projects in the area.

Some are ongoing constructions, while many have been completed and turned over to the local governments. For school buildings alone, BDOF has built 16 classrooms in partnership with other groups and 16 more being constructed. It also tied up for the construction of seven rural health centers, one housing project for the disabled, a community center (fully funded by the BDO employees). All told, project cost for the Yolanda areas is about P75 million.

In photo during the signing of the MOA are (from left) Jesus Tirona (from left), trustee of BDOF; Hank Hendrickson, executive director of USPS; Tessie Sy-Coson;Abelardo; and Undersecretary Danilo Antonio, Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery.