Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan led the inauguration of the new 10-story and fully air-conditioned school building, Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School (DDAES), in Sampaloc, Manila on Monday, April 8. 

Aside from the 234 fully air-conditioned classrooms, the local government said that DDAES has a gymnasium with 334 seating capacity, 72 comfort rooms, 28 admin offices, 10 elevators, a library, a canteen, a sports and exercise area on the roofdeck, outdoor basketball courts, and a football field. 

The school has an auditorium with a 364-seat capacity, which is located on the eighth floor of the building. 

Lacuna-Pangan shed tears during her speech, saying the inauguration was made more special because the school's auditorium was named after her father, the late former Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna. 

The mayor called on the teachers to be the best in their profession, as she said that having a new school complete facilities and almost the same with private schools is a big challenge for them.

"Isang hamon sa mga gurong narito... kung ano ang ganda ng gusali, dapat ganon din kaganda ang edukasyon na ibibigay natin sa ating mga mag-aaral lalo na kung elementary (A challenge for the teachers here is that the building must be as beautiful as the education that we will provide to our students, especially in elementary)," she said.

"Ang paaralan ang pangalawang tahanan ng mga mag-aaral at ang mga guro ang mga pangalawang magulang ng mag-aaral. In fact, baka mas matagal pa sa loob ng paaralan ang mga bata kaysa sa loob ng tahanan... ano ba naman ang isang magandang gusali kung di naman tutumbasan ng magandang edukasyon? (The school is the students' second home and the teachers are the students' second parents. In fact, children may spend more time in school than in the home... so what is the sense of a beautiful building if it is not matched with a good education?),” she added.

The mayor also cited the efforts of former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to get the school rehabilitated even at the height of the pandemic just to give students a quality education.

She also said that the students are lucky since their school is adjacent to the Dapitan Sports Complex, as she already asked City Engineer Armand Andres to put up a gate for easier access from the school to the complex.

"Sabi ko, lagyan na ng gate para may lagusan papunta sa Dapitan swimming pool. Ang swerte ninyo dahil katabi nyo ang complex... maglalagay lang ng access. Malay n'yo, baka maging sentro pa ito ng lahat ng sports activities (I ordered to put a gate so that there can be a way to the Dapitan swimming pool. You're lucky because the complex is just next to your school. Who knows, it might even become the center of all sports activities),” Lacuna said. 

Lacuna added that they already talked to the football players and told them that they are welcome to use the facilities of the DAAES or hold sports clinics.

The mayor also thanked all the people behind the construction of the new DAAES, including the construction workers who braved enough to face the threat of Covid-19 and continued working every day to get the school finished.

Moreno, together with the mayor's mother Melanie "Inday" Honrado-Lacuna, Vice Mayor Yul Servo, City Engineer Armand Andres, City Architect Pepito Balmoris, City Electrician Randy Sadac, fourth district councilors, and barangay and school officials, among others, also joined the inauguration.