REP. Erico Aumentado has secured over P76 million to construct more school buildings in Bohol’s 2 nd District. The funds come from the Department of Education (DepEd), his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). DepEd put in from its Calendar Year (CY) 2011 Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF) through its Physical Facilities and Schools’ Engineering Division P59,763,000 for various primary, elementary and secondary schools ranging from one to two storeys and from one to three classrooms per building, Under his signature counterparting strategy through a memorandum of agreement, Aumentado and the DepEd also put up P5.5 million each or P11 million for an initial 10 two-classroom buildings that the National Development Support Command (Nadescom) will undertake.

On the other hand, he secured P5.403 million from the DPWH for 7 one-classroom school buildings to be implemented by the latter. Aumentado makes rounds of the 14 towns in his district during weekends, breaks and from sessions or when the House declares a recess. This way, he says, he is keenly aware of the needs of his constituents. Considering that national funding is tight, however, he prioritizes the requests and builds schools using the DepEd rule of thumb in prioritization. DepEd classifies its facilities: Schools that put 60 children or more already in a classroom are categorized as “red” while classes with no classroom at all like those held “under the mango tree” are categorized as “black.”

The total does not include yet the amount for BEFF Batch 3 for the repair and rehabilitation of classrooms at P5.5 million; Water Sanitation Facilities or the construction of three-seater detached toilet with hand-washing facilities, P6.972 million; another allocation for school building repair, P4.004 million; another school building construction, P1.722 million and two batches of school furniture like desks, tables and chairs, P5.858 million. Aumentado also proposed an allocation for 30 regular items for Teacher I positions for 2012 – three for the elementary and 27 for the secondary levels. The solon said he pursued the counterparting with DepEd and Nadescom after the Engineer Support Battalion (ESBn) based in Tubigon town completed 110 school buildings in a similar strategy during his watch as governor. The cost then was only P600,000 per two-classroom building, later increased to P780,000 factoring in price escalation.

Because the military engineers need not pay for labor cost, they earned savings with which they bought armchairs and donated to the schools. The army engineers also built the classrooms in far-flung hinterland or island barangays, including former conflict areas where private contractors balked. DepEd Undersecretary Francisco Varela, MGen Carlos Holganza, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Nadescom and Aumentado signed the current MOA that will benefit the Nocnocan Elementary School (ES) in Nocnocan Island, Talibon; bay National Science High School (HS) in Fatima and Tubog Integrated School in Tubog, both Ubay; Gaus HS in Gaus Island, Basiao HS in Basiao and Bonbonon HS in Bonbonon all in President Garcia; San Jose ES, Hagbuyo ES and Caluasan ES in ther respective namesake barangays in San Miguel; and the Cuaming HS in Cuaming Island, Inabanga.

The current price for a two-classroom building in the MOA is P1.1 million. Each classroom measures 63 square meters, and will already have a toilet with water, electricity, blackboard, steel trusses and window grills, hewat insulator, 8,000-liter rain collector or innovative rainwater harvesting system (IRHS), gutter and downspout to ensure water for the toilets and for the school garden. The building’s wooden parts will also get treatment against termites. Aumentado already signified in the MOA that he will put up an additional P5.5 million from the second tranche of his 2011 PDAF to build even more schools under the same strategy. Meanwhile, recipients of one-classroom buildings under the regular school building program implemented by the DPWH are the Mahagbu ES in Trinidad, P825,000; Nueva Montaña ES in Buenavista, P798,000; Garcia Park ES in Talibon, P698,000; San Isidro ES, P698,000 and Lawis ES, P798,000 both in Inabanga; San Francisco ES in Ubay, P888,000 and Capao ES in Getafe, P698,000. The classrooms, however, including those undertaken by DepEd are smaller and do not have some or all the facilities and add-ons of the Nadescom-built buildings.