Ayala Foundation, Ayala Land Turn Over New School Buildings, Classrooms in Iloilo

In commemoration of the second anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda, the Ayala group of companies reaffirms its commitment to support communities devastated by the typhoon through the ceremonial handover of new school buildings in northern Iloilo province.

On November 6, 2015, Ayala Foundation and Ayala Land held turnover ceremonies for new school buildings and classrooms to the Department of Education and to the local government units.

Ayala Foundation and its partners officially turned over two 2-story, disaster-resilient school buildings for the Carles Central School in the town of Carles, and Cano-an Elementary School in Estancia.

The school buildings have a combined total of 16 classrooms, and feature rest rooms and emergency alarm systems. Taking into account the need to “build better,” the structures can withstand up to 250 kph of winds.

The new two-storey, eight-classroom building of Cano-an Elementary School in Estancia, Iloilo can withstand winds up to 250kph.

To date, Ayala Foundation and its partners have built and turned over five school buildings to Yolanda-stricken communities. The first two school buildings were built at the Old Sagay Elementary School in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, in November 2014. The third building was constructed at Cawayan Elementary School in Carles, northern Iloilo, and was inaugurated in September 2015. The five schools have a combined total of 33 classrooms.

Aside from the construction of school buildings, Ayala Foundation has implemented other interventions in the province. The Training Institute kicked off in Iloilo earlier this year, offering learning and mentoring sessions for 47 teachers and three principals.

Since the onslaught of Yolanda, the foundation and its partners have provided the following interventions in northern Iloilo: 16 temporary classrooms; a feeding program for 173 students; shelter kits for 100 families; 66 boats and 66 fishing nets for fishing families; and fertilizers and seedlings for 71 hectares of agricultural land.

Representatives of DepEd and the local government of Iloilo join Ayala Foundation Programs Director Joie Lopez during the ceremonial handover of Carles Central School held November 6.

“We have committed ourselves to helping our Yolanda communities get back on their feet,” said Joie Lopez, Ayala Foundation senior director for Programs. “And all the interventions we have facilitated in northern Iloilo would not have succeeded without the collaborative spirit of our donors, LGU, DepEd, and the people of Carles and Estancia.”

Meanwhile, Ayala Land officially handed over new classrooms to the Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College.

These interventions are part of the Ayala group of companies’ Bulig Bisaya initiative for Yolanda-affected communities. To date, the Ayala group has invested over P400 million for relief, recovery, and rehabilitation initiatives for Yolanda-affected communities.