Gabay Guro enjoys celebrity support

MANILA, Philippines - The newly-built classrooms cut a stark picture at the center of Pawing Elementary School in Palo, Leyte. Designed to be typhoon and quake-resistant, the classrooms looked shiny and smelled of fresh paint, and although it was a Sunday, some students were excitedly peeking through the windows.

The rest of the surroundings were a reminder of the devastation caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda, which a few months back, tore through Central Philippines with thousands of lives, houses and structures — like the Pawing Elementary School — supposed to provide shelter for the people in times of calamities laid to waste.

“It was supposed to be an evacuation area but nag-aalisan din kasi lumaki na ang tubig, parang time ni Noah,” recalled Loreta Gulariza, the school principal, likening the reported “tsunami-like” storm surge to the famous Biblical story.

Gulariza told The STAR that 12 of their classrooms were totally destroyed while six were left standing but still sustained damage. They also lost some students as well as teachers in the whole district to the typhoon.

But life has to go on. Students came on weekends for make-up classes and had to make do with makeshift classrooms. “We were having temporary classrooms covered with tarpaulins, with classes in the morning and in the afternoon, shifting,” Gulariza said, “(Although) some of them haven’t returned to their classes because they don’t have anything to sit on.”

That’s why the spanking-new classrooms courtesy of Gabay Guro (a CSR initiative founded by PLDT big boss Manny V. Pangilinan six years ago, with public school teachers as primary beneficiaries) are a huge help. There are six more situated in A.P. Banez Memorial Elementary School and Manlurip Elementary School, Tacloban.

“This is just the first phase,” said Gabay Guro chairman and 2013 TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee Chaye Cabal-Revilla, who leads the team of volunteers composed mostly of PLDT executives.

The classrooms are improved versions of the tried-and-tested ones built in Cebu a few years back and in Bohol last December after it was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in October of last year. The twin-classrooms, which cost P1.2M, are ready for use with blackboards, chairs, fans for added ventilation and supplies. 

Revilla said, “The Cebu structures that we did withstood the Yolanda and the earthquake. The standard there was 250 to 260 kph (wind resistance) and we’ve actually increased to 280 to 300 kph (with the new classrooms). The good thing about this is that it’s modular... not concrete. (As for classrooms that can handle) flooding, we’re still trying to come up with a floating structure that’s similar to those in The Netherlands. The first thing that we’ll do will be in Navotas. That’s still in the pipeline. It’s going to be more expensive because it will have stilts. (We are trying to do that because) we should also change with the changing times.” 

Nevertheless, it’s still a long way to go as an estimated 2,200 classrooms in Tacloban, Palo, Leyte and nearby areas still need to be replaced or rehabilitated.

“It’s a huge help what our partners like Gabay Guro are doing, sa pagpuno ng mga panibagong pangangailangan natin, at kasama dito ang mga aklat, upuan, palikuran, lahat naman yan ay ating tinutugunan. Bagama’t ito’y ginagawa na ng ating kagawaran, ang mga unang naipatayo na mga silid-aralan is through the initiative of our private sector that’s why we’re very thankful,” said DepEd Assistant Sec. Tonesito Umali, adding that they are targeting on rehabilitating and rebuilding the classrooms within the schoolyear 2014-2015 with the help of more groups like the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation of which the PLDT-Smart Foundation is also involved in. 

Gabay Guro projects, which also include trainings, livelihood programs, scholarships for aspiring teachers, broadbanding/computerization, a Teacher’s Day Tribute, among others, also get a boost through celebrity support. In the Tacloban visit, they were joined by two of the country’s busiest stars, Derek Ramsay and Anne Curtis. 

“They’re very kind and we appreciate their effort, for them to give happiness that’s really something, like Derek who has been with us year-in, year-out,” said Revilla.

In Tacloban, Gabay Guro also mounted its signature Teacher’s Day. The event used to be held in Metro Manila alone, but regional legs have since been carried out to bring cheer to teachers in disaster-struck areas, starting in Bohol last December followed by Tacloban.

“Also key to recovery and rebuilding is the normalization of the educational system and teachers are key to that. There will be no classes without teachers. Their positive outlook and hope will rub off on their students. Therefore, they play a key in the recovery and rebuilding efforts of any area devastated by any form of tragedy,” Revilla said in a separate statement.

During the rousing Teacher’s Day Tribute at Leyte Normal University, wherein cash prizes and goodies were raffled off, one teacher mused that the event was like a “bagyo kasi damang dama namin kayo” drawing laughs from the 2,500 public school teachers in attendance. This ability to find light moments, their situation notwithstanding, was not lost on the stars.

Derek, who was introduced to Gabay Guro through his father, shared, “Let’s not forget they (the teachers) are victims also. They’re still driven to inspire the youth, teach and help them but they are struck just as bad. When I got the call to come and help and inspire the teachers, I was, ‘sure!’ I don’t work on Sundays but this isn’t work for me, this is something that I love to do. I’ve been with Gabay Guro for four years now, and I’m very close to them. With these teachers, the struggles that they’ve been through these past months, it’s nice to see that they haven’t given up. Good way to bounce back from a calamity is to be positive.”

For her part, Anne said, “I was looking at some of the schools, nakita ko yung mga back to school signs, so they’re really trying their best to (move on). It’s hard for teachers to go through that, and they’re going through their own personal struggles as well, but they have to commit themselves to these students, so nakakatuwa that I’m given the chance to come all the way here to give back to them.”

Both Derek and Anne, who are among the celebrities known to have taken an active part in helping Yolanda victims, rallying fans for support through fundraisers, like everyone else, relied on media organizations for news and images on the extent of the damage wrought on Tacloban and other parts of Leyte.

But finally seeing the ruins and remnants of what had happened still came as a shocker. 

Derek, who has been to Tacloban many times before the supertyphoon, had to react, “I don’t recognize it anymore.”

The actor added, “When we saw the damage, that’s when we thought, it’s worse than we thought it was. Time has passed since the storm so it must have been worse. It’s hard to take in what you see, but when you see the people smiling, playing, and the church is full, if there was a question kung ano ang No. 1 lahi who can bounce back from a calamity, I’d really say Filipinos.”

The actress, on the other hand, shared, “When we were flying over, you see it, that there still some areas struggling for recovery, so ang bigat kaagad ng feeling. But on the way to the venue, we actually see people building, so there’s spark of hope around. They’re not just sitting around and waiting.”

Amidst other news seemingly taking precedence over reports coming out from these Yolanda-hit areas, Derek stressed that they shouldn’t be forgotten.

“Coming here, it’s really nice to see a lot of local and foreign organizations helping, you see na tumutulong at nakikita naman,” he said. “It (the attention) should remain hot until they have recovered. That’s why I try to do my part. Yeah, nasasapawan na ng ibang balita. But it shouldn’t be forgotten.”