In an effort to help address the shortage of school equipment in other areas, the Tagum City government has flexed its “social responsibility arm” by donating 195 armchairs, desks and tables to a public elementary school in Payatas, Quezon City.
Tagum Mayor Rey Uy told the Inquirer in a phone interview that the donation from the city government under its “Care for School Chairs Program” consisted of 112 armchairs, 25 desks, 50 chairs and eight tables.
“The chairs and tables are good for four classrooms,” Uy said.
The “gift of Tagum” to the students of Payatas Elementary School was the city government’s answer to a letter from Environment Undersecretary Ernesto Adobo Jr. asking for a donation of 100 new classroom furniture.
The additional 95 chairs and tables were squeezed in as there was still room in the trucks to accommodate these, said Uy.
According to the mayor, he was glad for the chance to help other local government units address the shortage of school equipment, particularly in learning institutions that cater to the poor.
“This is also an opportunity to showcase the school chairs [made by our] city,” Uy said.
The donated school furniture were made from confiscated logs stored by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the city motor pool.
Based on an agreement between the local government and DENR, the seized logs would be converted into much-needed school furniture.
The finished products are painted yellow or red “so as to add color and life” inside dark classrooms usually found in the provinces, Uy said.
In August 2011 alone, Tagum donated 40,144 chairs and other school furniture to schools in the Davao region.
More will be made from the confiscated logs that will come from the DENR, Uy said.
He added that last week, over 2,000 lauan logs seized in Agusan del Sur were turned over by the DENR to the city government.
The haul, valued at P3.4 million, can be made into 7,000 chairs, he said.
“The shortage problem can be addressed if local government units will pitch in and [help] in the fabrication of chairs,” Uy said.