Lopez Group raises P196 M for schools in Yolanda areas

MANILA, Philippines -  Ormoc City, Leyte - The Lopez Group has raised P196 million to complete the construction of typhoon-resilient school rooms in areas hit by super Typhoon Yolanda and other recent disasters by September this year.

The school rebuilding program covers the construction of 150 classrooms housed in 66 school buildings in 30 cities and municipalities in 11 provinces – Leyte, Eastern Samar, Western Samar, Sorsogon, Albay, Bohol, Bukidnon, Laguna, Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan.

Once completed, the program will benefit an estimated 9,000 students (at an average of 60 students per classroom). 

In an interview with reporters during the inauguration of one of the new school buildings in Ormoc City, EDC president and COO Richard Tantoco said the seed funding of P70 to 80 million came from EDC and later on from donor funds of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. – Sagip Kapamilya and other Lopez-led firms.

“We wrote to the other CEOs of the Lopez Group to build another 100 classrooms. We were able to raise another P100 to 110 million,” he said.

So far, the school rebuilding program has completed the construction of 50 typhoon-resilient school buildings with 118 rooms in Leyte, Samar, Iloilo,Capiz and Bukidnon, said Leonardo Ablaza, manager of the Lopez Group’s school rebuilding program.

He said 16 more school buildings with 32 classrooms will be completed between July and September, when the school rebuilding program is concluded.

Designed by third-party experts, the calamity-resilient classrooms can withstand wind velocity of up to 250 kilometers per hour. The classrooms feature cathedral-type ceilings, wider windows and insulated roofing for better ventilation.

The project was implemented in three phases. In the first two phases, funds pooled from various donors by ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. – Sagip Kapamilya were tapped to construct new school buildings or to repair damaged schools in Yolanda-hit areas.  

For Phase 3, the Lopez Group companies, led by subsidiaries of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), have pledged to shoulder the cost of constructing the new typhoon-resilient schools. These firms include First Gen Corp., Rockwell Land Corp., First Balfour Inc., and First Philec Corp. Other Lopez-led firms include  ThermaPrime Well Services Inc. and First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP).

FPH is the holding company of First Gen, the country’s leading clean and renewable energy company. EDC, a subsidiary of First Gen, is the world’s largest geothermal company.

Rockwell Land is a developer of luxurious real estate projects, First Balfour is engaged in construction and engineering services, while ThermaPrime is a leading geothermal drilling company. 

FPIP owns and operates the premiere 457-hectare industrial estate in Batangas while First Philec serves as the intermediate holding company of FPH for manufacturing and technology-related investments.

“When many ask us why we did what we did, I just have one answer, it was but human to do so,” First Gen and FPH chairman and CEO Federico R. Lopez later remarked. 

Meanwhile, the last batch of 163 Yolanda victims who underwent vocational training from Kananga-EDC Institute of Technology (KEITech) completed their training this month.

“Graduates of KEITech have consistently achieved a 100 percent passing rate when taking national certification tests. KEITech also enjoys a high placement rate for its graduates,” said Emiliano V. Saceda II, administrator of KEITech.

“Of the 1,003  trainees from the Yolanda training program, we have verified at least 699  as employed. Of the 686 graduates of KEITech’s regular program since the school opened seven years ago, 640 are already employed in the construction, shipping and tourism industries here and abroad,” Saceda said.

KEITech was opened seven years ago as EDC’s technical-vocational arm to offers indigents training modules ordinarily lasting 11 months.