The local government of Manila inaugurated on Wednesday, Jan. 24, the newly constructed 10-story building of Rosauro Almario Elementary School in Tondo, Manila.
The inauguration was led by Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan, former Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, and councilors of District 1.
The city government said that the new building was a dream of Moreno, an alumnus of the school, who said during the groundbreaking ceremony in 2021 that he wants other children to experience modern facilities in a public school.
“I want your children to experience what my children have experienced -- for them to have state-of-the-art and modern facilities in a public school setting. We are lucky to have loving and nurturing teachers and principals," he said.
The city government said that the new building consists of 227 classrooms and 12 offices, which are all air-conditioned.
It also has a library, a canteen, an auditorium, a gymnasium, two outdoor basketball courts with retractable goals convertible to football fields, two roofdeck outdoor sports and exercise areas, eight elevator units, and seven stairs.
Graciano A. Budoy Jr., the school principal, expressed his gratitude to Lacuna and Moreno, saying that children in Manila are very lucky and blessed to have leaders like them who truly care about their education and future.
“Tignan po ninyo kung hindi ako nagkakamali, for the first time in the entire country, ngayon lang nagkaroon ng public school na ganito kaganda, and it is only in Manila (if I'm not mistaken, for the first time in the entire country, a grand public school like this has been built, and it is only in Manila),” he said.
He promised that they would take care of the school and provide a quality education to its 7,639 students.
“Itong effort ninyo, [former] Mayor Isko at Mayor Lacuna, ito po ay aming susuklian, hindi po ito nagtatapos dito sa magandang building. Ito po ay iingatan naming mabuti, sa pinaka-mataas na antas ng pag-iingat para sa maraming susunod na henerasyon, ito ay mananatiling bantayog ng kahusayan ng pamahalaang Maynila (This effort of yours, [former] Mayor Isko and Mayor Lacuna, we will repay this, it does not end with this beautiful building. We will keep it carefully, with the highest level of care for the next generations and future students of this school. It will remain a testament of the excellence of the Manila government),” Budoy said.
The city government said that the Rosauro Almario Elementary School started in 1947 just as an annex of Isabelo Delos Reyes Elementary School, where it only has two classrooms: a morning session for Grade 1 students and an afternoon session for Grade 2 students.