ILOILO CITY — When people and organizations come together with one purpose, even the biggest challenges in education can be addressed. At Iloilo City National High School (ICNHS), a new two-storey, 10-classroom school building stands as proof of what can happen when businesses, government, educators, and communities turn the spirit of bayanihan into action.
On September 17, 2026, Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI) turned over the new school building to ICNHS, the biggest public high school in Iloilo City, which serves around 6,500 students. The project was made possible not by one organization alone, but through the combined efforts of partners who each contributed resources, expertise, and support toward one shared goal: giving Filipino students better spaces to learn.
For the school, the impact is immediate. “The classrooms are specifically useful for the Grade 9 learners so we no longer have to do shifting classes,” shared ICNHS principal Aplha Java.
Behind those classrooms is a story of partnership.
Through its Build a School, Build a Nation program, SBFI funded and oversaw the construction of the school building, with support from partners who helped bring the school building to completion. A.C. Steel Industries provided steel materials, Signify Philippines donated lights, switches, and outlets, while LBC Express, through the LBC Hari ng Padala Foundation, subsidized the delivery of SBFI’s owner-supplied materials. The local government provided backfill and support for the electrical loads and lines of the new building, while the Department of Education provided classroom furniture.
Each partner contributed in its own way, turning a shared vision into classrooms for students to learn and grow. It is the spirit of bayanihan in education—where collective action turns a vision into reality.
SBFI Chairman Rafael Simpao expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Foundation’s partners and welcomed more organizations to join the continuing effort and perseverance to build classrooms for Filipino learners.
“But perseverance alone is not enough. We have learned that lasting change requires partnerships. That is why our journey has been holistic and multisectoral, because education is not the work of one institution alone, but of an entire community working together.”
With its proven track record of building classrooms since 2011, the Foundation has earned the trust of its partners through its quality workmanship and commitment to delivering quality school buildings. Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Maria Lourdes S. Treñas-Chu likewise commended the quality of the construction and expressed her appreciation for the speed at which the classrooms were completed, “I called our engineers and asked, ‘Pwede ba ang structure natin kagaya ng Security Bank? Maganda na, ang bilis pa.’ Our city needs more classrooms, and we hope we can deliver them as fast as Security Bank. We want to apply the same technology to our school projects,” Mayor Treñas-Chu said.
The project is the first of eight school buildings SBFI is donating this year. By the end of 2026, the Foundation expects to have donated 961 classrooms to 159 schools across 95 municipalities and cities nationwide.
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