Cebu Catholic school donates textbooks to Moro student

COTABATO CITY — Army officials turned over 2,000 textbooks donated by the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu in Mandaue City in Cebu, to a school in Talayan, Maguindanao del Sur, on Monday, November 2.

The textbooks are intended for students of the Hadji Baganian Memorial School (HBMS) in Barangay Tambunan in Talayan, most of whom come from marginalized Maguindanaon families.

Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu, commander of Army's 6th Infantry Division, personally handed over the books to HBMS officials during a symbolic turnover ceremony on Monday.

The donation aims to support the educational needs of students in the community by providing additional learning materials.

The simple turnover ceremony, held at the headquarters of the 6th ID at Camp Siongco in Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, was witnessed by Catu’s subordinate officers and representatives of HBMS and the school that donated the textbooks.

The textbooks were coursed through the 6th ID by officials of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, who recognized the division's links with Moro communities in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte, where its units conduct extensive multi-sector peacebuilding activities that complement the government’s Southern Mindanao peace process.

The 2,000 textbooks were personally received by Albert Hadjihil, a senior official of HBMS, one of the schools in Talayan, hometown of Maguindanao del Sur Gov. Ali Midtimbang.

Midtimbang told reporters on Tuesday that he was grateful to the donor for the textbooks donation.  

 Catu said he hoped other big schools outside the Bangsamoro region would also donate textbooks for elementary and high school students in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte to support their studies.