Pinoy Bayanihan delivers 53,000 armchairs to schools nationwide

MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of students from more than 300 public schools in the CARAGA area and the National Capital Region (NCR) have received 53,776 armchairs from the “Pinoy Bayanihan” project.

The armchairs were manufactured through the collaboration of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Of the 53,776 armchairs produced since 2011, 45,876 were distributed to schools in the CARAGA region. Fifteen schools in Metro Manila received 7,900  armchairs.

The Pinoy Bayanihan project received an initial P100 million from Pagcor. The program’s objective is to put to good use illegal logs confiscated by the DENR.

Pagcor chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the agency took part in the Pinoy Bayanihan project to help the government reduce the armchair backlog in public schools nationwide.

“Thousands of children endure sitting on dilapidated chairs or on the floor because of the lack of decent desks. With the new armchairs from the Pinoy Bayanihan project, they can now sit comfortably while attending classes,” Naguiat explained.

As a collaborative undertaking, Pagcor provided the funds to acquire the production equipment and the training costs of the furniture makers. The DENR is in charge of supplying the lumber processed from confiscated illegal logs. TESDA provided the skills and manpower needed for the production of armchairs while DepEd identified the schools in need of armchairs.

The project’s two production sites were at TESDA’s main office in Taguig City and the Agusan del Sur School of Arts and Trades (ASSAT) in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur.

TESDA-CARAGA regional director Florencio Sunico Jr. said Pinoy Bayanihan is a noteworthy project.

“From a confiscated log, we created something that became a significant component of the education of our school children. Who knows, one of them might become the president of the country later on,” he said.

Sunico said furniture makers also benefit from the project.

“The workers in ASSAT and our main office receive an allowance of P220 a day from Pagcor’s funding. It’s dual purpose. The students benefit from the armchairs while the workers received training and allowance. Most of the workers’ parents are farmers so now they are able to support themselves and part of the allowance they give to their families,”Sunico said.

Tamayo said that the Pinoy Bayanihan project helps CARAGA locals earn a living. “Most of the residents here especially the indigenous people are dependent on logging. They were gravely affected by Executive Order 23 which bans illegal logging activities nationwide. The Pinoy Bayanihan provided them employment opportunities,” he said.