TACLOBAN CITY – Over 300 public schools in Eastern Visayas are expecting to receive tables and chairs for students and teachers by October.

In an interview, Jasmin Calzita, DepEd Eastern Visayas regional information officer, said procurement is ongoing at the central office and the school furniture will be shipped to the region by October.

The school furniture program for the region amounting to P220 million, includes 99,605 sets of chairs and tables, will benefit 312 public campuses and under the 2021 and 2022 appropriations.

“The procurement is based on the actual assessment done by school officials in the past school years. While waiting for the delivery, we pull out excess furniture from other schools for use in nearby campuses with furniture shortage,” Calzita told the Philippine News Agency.

The region expects the delivery of 71,110 individual chairs and tables set for elementary pupils, 24,762 for junior high school learners, 2,028 for senior high school, 1,495 chairs and tables set for teachers, 168 working table and stool sets, and 42 science laboratory working table and stool sets.

Under its eight-year procurement plan that started in 2021, DepEd is eyeing to provide one seat and one table to every learner as mandated by Republic Act 11394, or An Act Mandating Public and Private Educational Institutions to Provide Neutral Desks to Students, said Calzita.

A neutral desk, according to the law, is a table or an armchair suitable for left-handed or right-handed students.

The DepEd standard design of armchairs is made of all wood, or a combination of wood and steel, engineered bamboo, and nonwood-based materials will be adopted.

Calzita said the top priority will be given to schools that are recipients of new classrooms under the school building program of the national government and local governments.
The next priority is schools in need of classroom seats as found in the latest furniture analysis.

However, Calzita has no record of how much furniture is needed by the region’s over 4,000 public schools.

As of Aug. 31 or the third day of the new academic year, the region has already recorded 1,113,969 enrollment, representing 86.96 percent of the actual registered learners in the previous school year.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)

MANILA-On August 24, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a Php283-million ($5 million) project to help the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) address education challenges, including boosting its capacity to assess the quality of education among Filipino learners.
With the support of various implementing partners, USAID’s five-year project “Improving Learning Outcomes for the Philippines” or ILO-Ph will aid DepEd in designing, implementing, and evaluating its full range of education programs, from early childhood education to workforce development.

Through ILO-Ph, USAID will provide DepEd with on-demand technical assistance, regular consultations, and trainings to improve its strategic communications and data analysis systems. This will enable DepEd to better track the progress of Filipino learners in standardized examinations and measure learning recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. ILO-Ph will also support DepEd in conducting policy-relevant research to help Filipino educators enhance their teaching methods and positively impact learning outcomes.

“As an enduring friend, partner, and ally, the U.S. government, through USAID, will continue to work with local partners to make quality education accessible to all educators and learners wherever they are in the Philippines so we can build stronger and more prosperous communities,” USAID Philippines Deputy Education Director Yvette Malcioln said.

Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte called the new partnership a “significant milestone” that would strengthen DepEd’s goal of addressing basic education challenges under its new “MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa” agenda.

“The impact of policy-relevant research and technical assistance on educators and young learners can be profound. These can alter the fate of their future and consequently, the course of our nation,” Vice President Duterte said, in remarks delivered by DepEd Assistant Secretary G.H. Ambat during the launch.

“In the face of challenges and changes, initiatives like ILO-Ph offers hope and inspiration. I wholeheartedly support this noble project and encourage all stakeholders to tap into its transformative potential.”(PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – At least 2,768 villages in Eastern Visayas have been declared as drug-cleared after local authorities managed to get rid of the drug trade and use in their communities, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported.

In a press briefing, PDEA 8 (Eastern Visayas) information officer Rogelette Urgel said these villages, previously tagged as drug-affected, passed the parameters set by the national government to gain the status.

Of the 2,768 villages, 108 are in Biliran province, 984 in Leyte, 127 in Tacloban City, 81 in Ormoc City, 463 in Southern Leyte, 385 in Eastern Samar, 265 in Northern Samar, and 355 in Samar province.

A drug-cleared barangay (village) refers to a village previously classified as drug-affected but underwent the drug-clearing program and declared as drug-cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing.

“A drug-cleared village doesn’t mean illegal drugs can no longer be found in the community. What it means is that the previous drug situation has changed for the better with the proactive measures of local officials,” Urgel told reporters.

A village earns the drug-cleared status if there is no presence of active drug users, pushers, drug den maintained, coddler protector, financier, cultivator, manufacturer, and others.

Other criteria are the regular conduct of house visitation and monitoring to identify drug personalities and the provision of appropriate intervention to drug users and pushers.
The region has 4,360 villages with 2,768 tagged as drug-cleared, 157 affected, 70 unaffected, and 1,365 as drug-free. (PNA)