A municipal integrated school was inaugurated in Bulakan, Bulacan on March 4, and the occasion was led by President Duterte who said it fulfills his campaign promise to the province. Photo from the Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office
BULAKAN, Bulacan – President Duterte last week inaugurated the province’s first municipal integrated school which is named after revolutionary hero Gregorio Del Pilar who hails from this town.
The inauguration of the three new buildings and 60 classrooms of the P160-Million Gen. Gregorio Del Pilar Integrated School (GGDPIS) fulfills his campaign promise to Bulacan, the President said during the occasion on March 4.
He credited First Lady Cielito Honeylet Avancena for lobbying for the project.
Duterte said the school, which was formerly the town’s central public school, ensures that students will have quality and accessible education.
Enrico Manaid, principal of the GGDPIS, said construction began in January 2019 and the school opened at the start of the school year 2020-2021 in October although students were made to take their lessons home due to quarantine restrictions.
A municipal integrated school was inaugurated in Bulakan, Bulacan on March 4, and the occasion was led by President Duterte who said it fulfills his campaign promise to the province. Photo from the Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office
Enrollment has doubled from 1,200 in the previous school year to 2,300 last year as many students from the villages and from private schools transferred to GGDPIS. It currently offers basic education programs from kindergarten to Grade 8 and will open Grades 9 and 10 in the school year 2021-2022.
The school would offer Grades 11 and 12 in the succeeding years, in preparation for an increase in migrant population once the P735-Billion Bulacan international airport becomes operational in 2026.
The original school was built in the early 1900s and produced graduates like Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato Dela Pena who is from Bulakan town.