School now has new electrical wirings

Officials of the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) trooped to Liloan town in northern Cebu to turn over the power company’s newly completed school rewiring project to Liloan Central School last Monday.

Veco spent at least P600,000 to replace the old and dilapidated wires with new lighting materials in Liloan Central School, which has a total of 45 classroom and 2,350 school pupils who can now enjoy a safer and brighter learning environment.

During the ceremony, Veco chief operating officer Sebastian Lacson said Veco has shifted its corporate social responsibility focus since three years ago from building classrooms to school rewiring project.

Lacson said the project will prevent the beneficiary schools from getting burned because building new classrooms to replace the damaged structures is very costly.

Dr. Novi Mangubat, a DepEd representative, said schools that have no proper wirings are prone to fire. She said Liloan Central School is very lucky for being one of the recipients of the project. She hoped the project would also extend to other schools.

Veco communications manager Maria Theresa Sederiosa said they are now planning to conduct fire and rescue training to other beneficiary schools to equip the students and teachers with the knowledge on how to properly handle emergency situations, such as electrocution.

She recalled an incident involving a school pupil of Banilad Elementary School in barangay Banilad, Cebu City who was almost electrocuted when he stepped on a wet ground where a live wire was touching. Luckily, a schoolmate who knows basic first aid, rescued him by running towards the building to shut off the transformer instead of pulling him.

The activity also included the signing of memorandum of agreement and switch-on ceremony for the rewiring project.

It was also attended by Poblacion Liloan barangay captain Leo Pilapil, Schools District Supervisor Richard Acaso, and Liloan Central Elementary School principal Maria Theresa Singuran, teachers and the students.

For the last three years, Veco has already rewired 13 public schools in its franchise area. Since January this year, Veco has rewired three schools — Banilad Elementary School in Cebu City, Garing Elementary School in Consolacion and Danlag Elementary School.

Fourteen other public schools are lined for rewiring for the remainder of this year. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT TITO P. TAN