Part of Metro film fest profits to go to repair of damaged schools

According to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, the producers and actors in the eight film entries earlier expressed their willingness to reach out to the scores of residents who were left homeless by Pablo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Part of the profits from the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) will go toward the rehabilitation of schools in areas devastated by Typhoon “Pablo.”

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino, who is also overall MMFF head, said that the festival’s executive committee had agreed to donate part of the proceeds from this year’s film festival to repair damaged schools in New Bataan, Compostela Valley and Cateel, Davao Oriental.

According to Tolentino, the producers and actors in the eight film entries earlier expressed their willingness to reach out to the scores of residents who were left homeless by Pablo.

“Children are the most affected by this calamity. They not only lost their homes, many [of them] their loved ones and now their education and future are at risk because their schools were either damaged or totally destroyed,” he said.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the damage wrought by Pablo has so far reached P36 billion, including P7.5 billion worth of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, government offices and public schools; P26.5 billion in agriculture products and P2.8 billion worth of private property.