Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. SVP and plant manager Chiyuki Sugawara (4th from left) hands over the symbolic key to Dr. Victor A. Ybañez (2nd from right), DepEd district supervisor, and San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya (right) during the company turned over of a service bus for the school district. Also in the photo are Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC) director and chief technical adviser Hiroyoki Sakakibara, SEDC mining division manager Samuel O. Tagsip and TCPI VP administration Shigeki Koide. | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Allied companies operating in San Fernando town donated a service bus that the Department of Education (DepEd) can use in the day-to-day operations of their district office and the schools that it oversees.
Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) and its materials supplier Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC) turned over the bus to DepEd San Fernando District recently in a brief ceremony held at the San Fernando Central School and in the presence of Mayor Lakambini Reluya.
Reluya said that the donation of the bus was sentimental to her because it was her husband Ricardo “Nonoy” Reluya Jr. on his capacity as president of the town’s Association of Barangays Councils (ABC), who facilitated the donation.
The mini-bus has a 4-cylinder Isuzu 4HF1 engine fed that runs in crude oil from a 50-liter capacity storage tank. It can carry up to 40 seated passengers, shared Vanessa N. Bongcawil, TCPI head of community and general affairs.
Dr. Victor A. Ybañez, the local district supervisor, said he saw the need for mobility in the school district when he started with his assignment there.
“With ease and comfort, we will now be able to reach out to the schools, gather teachers and students for off-campus activities in our district, organize educational trips, and send delegations to provincial and regional events,” he said.
TCPI Senior Vice President for Operations and Plant Manager Chiyuki Sugawara said the donation was consistent with the company’s belief that “business is more than just an economic endeavor.”
“In our pursuit for business growth, we integrate social and environmental concerns into our operations and interaction with stakeholders … to fuel hope and keep the torch of hope flourishing among the company’s stakeholders,” he added.
TCPI vice president for administration Shigeki Koide also underscored that the donation was a “demonstration of sincerity and (the) commitment of the company in building better communities.”
Speaking through his mining operations division manager Samuel O. Tagsip, SEDC president Dennis Tenefrancia noted that the donation manifested the company’s “high regard to our teachers.”
“Our educators play important roles in forming young generations into responsible and productive citizens,” he said, adding that the bus will “encourage our teachers to enhance further their skills in teaching to develop student’s competencies.”
TCPI and SEDC have been jointly supporting the town’s thrust for education, far more than the usual Balik Eskwela initiatives, by providing schools with needed tools and supplies to train and care for students better, and supporting scholars.
DepEd San Fernando oversees 21 elementary schools, eight secondary schools and one integrated school. | dcb