"Complaining did not get us anywhere, so we did the next best thing — do someting about it ourselves. Nag-ambag-ambag po ang mga parents (The parents pitched in money). Wala pong tulong ang DepEd dito (We did not receive any help from DepEd)," the parents told The STAR as they huddled at noontime last Friday waiting for their children to be dismissed from their classes.
The Parent-Teachers Association led by Lourdes Letada, 38, a housewife, said they have built 14 toilets at the Caloocan Elementary School (Unit 2) on P. Sevilla Street over the years. That afternoon, they were meeting to discuss the construction of the last two units in the building, Letada said.
Letada told The STAR that her group had spent some P100,000 for the facilities in the last four years, spending between P7,000 to P10,000 per toilet.
Each toilet is at least one meter-and-a-half wide and located in a corner opposite the door with some three feet clearance from the ceiling. Soap and water are always available.
Letada revealed that this project, a brainchild of the Grade 1 Homeroom Parents-Teachers Association, started four years ago.
There used to be one toilet in the old main building which was used by about 2,000 grade school pupils both in the morning and afternoon sessions.
Letada said it had to be closed as it stinks and nearby classrooms could not stand it.
Letada and the other parents lamented the government’s neglect of the most basic needs of students. She has one unsolicited advice to PresidentArroyo:
"Dapat maraming natatanggap ang mga estudyante sa pamahalaan. Kung gagawin lang ang dapat ng mga nasa katungkulan, maaayos ang lahat. Sa ngayon, hindi sapat ang ginagawa ng ating gobyerno. Pangulong Gloria, lutasin niyo ang graft and corruption at ang iba’y susunod na (Students should receive many benefits from the government. If the government will only do their jobs, everything will be in order. As of now, the government is not doing enough. President Gloria, solve graft and corruption and the rest will follow)," she said.