DepEd holds fund-raising run on Rizal birthday

MANILA, Philippines—Hoping to gather support for education, the Department of Education will hold a fun run on Sunday in commemoration of the country’s most admired scholar.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro is calling on Filipinos from all sectors to gather at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila at 6 a.m. on June 19 for a run, which aims to gather more education resources, to mark the 150th birth anniversary of national hero Jose Rizal.

“We all know how our national hero pushed for the education of the Filipinos and I am sure that a century after his death that remains his aspiration,” said Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

Similar to a fun run DepEd held during the Edsa People Power anniversary in February, the registration fee is waived for runners who will sign up. Participants may choose to enlist for the 1-kilomer, 2-km or 3-km run-walks.

In lieu of a fee, DepEd is requesting participants to bring donations for both students and schools or sign a pledge of service.

Participants may donate classroom materials, including notebooks, crayons and chalks, school furniture like chairs, tables and cabinets, equipment including computers, printers, electric fans and fax machines or home economics or industrial arts tools.

Runners may also pledge to help build classrooms or volunteer their time to serve as tutors, resource persons, teachers’ assistants or maintenance staff.

School officials and students from Metro Manila are expected to attend the event. Some groups from the private sector have also confirmed participation, DepEd said.

“This is a good physical exertion and at the same time an expression of compassion for our young learners who need our full support,” he explained.

Some 22 million students returned to class last week, many enduring long unresolved shortages in classrooms, teachers, textbooks, desks and chairs among others.