Nation-building starts with building schools

“All it takes is close cooperation between government and the private sector towards solving the country’s pressing problems, one of which is the education of the less privileged youth,” the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) asserted in its 1982 report on its project, Operation: Barrio Schools.

FFCCCII’s flagship project, Operation: Barrio Schools was started in 1960 when the federation decided to target the country’s problem of lack of classrooms, which was a growing concern even then.

In 1958, the FFCCCII noted that the country lacked some 20,000 classrooms. Just three years later, in 1961, the number had doubled to 40,000, highlighting the dire need for help from both the public and private sector.

The first of many schoolhouses built through Operation: Barrio Schools was donated by Chiu Kim She to the Obrero Elementary School in La Paz, Iloilo City on June 11, 1961.

A decade after the project’s launch, 100 schoolhouses had already been built. By its 1982 report, support for the project had accelerated rapidly and over 500 schoolhouses had been donated.

Operation: Barrio Schools has become the longest running and biggest school building construction program in the Philippines led by the private sector. It is the FFCCCII’s major socio-civic program, and is the federation’s flagship program focusing on educational infrastructure.

With support from families, organizations, and individuals from the Chinese-Filipino community, more than 4,000 schoolhouses have been built nationwide, in places that most need them.

Because of the success of the project, many government officials have partnered with them in implementing their respective school infrastructure projects.

These include Senators Franklin Drilon and Francis Pangilinan, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Representatives Judith Syjuco of Iloilo and Rosendo Labadlabad of Zamboanga del Norte, and the Department of Education and Department of Public Works and Highways.

In total, the FFCCCII and its government partners have so far donated 6,933 schoolhouses, or 13,866 classrooms, and they show no signs of stopping.

With the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project, the DepEd affirms what the FFCCCII has known all along – that it takes cooperation between the government and the private sector to make real steps towards solving the nation’s problems.

Despite the constant increase in the need for more classrooms to be built, the FFCCCII remains steadfast in its commitment to meet these needs as Operation: Barrio Schools continues to construct schoolhouses and build the nation’s future.