Agusan del Norte 2nd District Rep. Dale Corvera, a member of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, lauded President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for approving the release of PHP1.34 billion in funding for the restoration of heritage schools in the country.

In a statement Wednesday, Corvera said over 2,000 heritage school buildings nationwide need financial support for restoration.

“Sadly, many of these school buildings that are supposed to be preserved as part of our cultural heritage have fallen into disrepair or, worse, disuse,” he said.

Corvera said the approved budget for this year is enough to restore around 600 classrooms of more than 80 heritage schools in the country.

Among the known heritage schools, he said, are the Gabaldon Schoolhouses, built between 1907 and 1946 and named after the late lawmaker Isauro Gabaldon, the author of the Gabaldon Act of 1907.

The law, passed by the Philippine Assembly in 1907, provided PHP1 million to establish modern public school buildings throughout the country from 1908 to 1915.

“I hope that this will be the beginning of a continuing program of restoring these buildings as part of our cultural conservation efforts and to help address the need for more classrooms,” Corvera said.

The move of President Marcos, he said, will help instill a love for culture among the country’s learners.

“At least, through this approval of the release of funding by the President, we will keep our youth in touch with our past as a nation,” Corvera said. (PNA)

Photo credit: Facebook/TheGabaldonProject