BUTIG, Lanao del Sur – The military turned over the newly reconstructed Ragayan Elementary School here on Tuesday, January 30.
OFFICIALS inaugurate the newly restored Ragayan Elementary School in Butig, Lanao del Sur on January 30. (Bonita L. Ermac)
The school rebuilt after five months with a P2-million budget was a collateral damage in the conflict between government forces and Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group in 2015.
The Philippine Army, through the 103rd Brigade, 55th Engineer Brigade, Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative (PAFCPIC), and the municipal government, inaugurated the single story, eight-classroom school building in Barangay Ragayan.
Col. Billy O. dela Rosa, 103rd deputy brigade commander, said the school is now ready to offer quality education to pupils.
Dela Rosa was then the commanding officer of the 51st Infantry battalion assigned to the area when the school was totaled in an attack.
He remembered that many soldiers and people perished and affected by the conflict.
Dela Rosa heaved a sigh of relief that after nine years, the school has been rebuilt.
"I was relieved and happy because ito iyong pangarap ko na sana maayos itong Ragayan Elementary School. It is a dream come true for me,” said Dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa urged the people to take the past as a lesson and help ensure that the attack would not happen again.
"Huwag na nating pabayaan na mangyari pa iyong dating nangyari, we learned hard lesson from our past at sana hindi na maulit, at sana itong Ragayan ES ay maging instrumento ng katahimikan natin dito sa Butig," he said.
PUPILS perform a native dance during the inauguration of the newly restored Ragayan Elementary School in Butig, Lanao del Sur on January 30. (Bonita L. Ermac)
The project was funded by PAFCPIC and is expected to immediately benefit 314 pupils in Kinder and Grades 1 to 6 as well as their teachers.
It also added a playground, a public comfort room, and a stage.
PAFCPIC Director Emmanuel Gongora said that pupils of Ragayan Elementary School have been uncomfortable in pursuing their education for the past years due to the condition of the school.
Gongora hopes that the restoration of the school will benefit pupils and teachers.