Security Bank Foundation’s two-story, six classroom school building in Emiliano Lizares National High School after the repairs

Bacolod City, Negros Occidental – In preparation for the resumption of face-to-face classes, Security Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm Security Bank Foundation Inc. (SBFI) spearheaded the repairs of its previously-donated two school buldings in Bacolod City, equivalent to 12 classrooms.

The initiative is part of the Foundation’s Build a School, Build a Nation: The Classrooms Project. As a standard, SBFI evaluates its donated school buildings every five years to assess structural integrity and conduciveness for learning. Those that were heavily damaged by disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons are prioritized for major repair to ensure safety of students and avoidance of class disruption.

Upon evaluation, SBFI prioritized the repair of the two-storey, six-classroom school building in Emiliano Lizares National High School (ELNHS) and the two-storey, six-classroom school building in Antonio L. Jayme Elementary School (ALJES). Both schools were damaged by the earthquakes that struck Bacolod in December 2019 and June 2020.

“We appreciate the continuing support of SBFI for the Department of Education through major repair of school facilities. They have ensured that the students and teachers of Emiliano Lizares National High school and Antonio L. Jayme Elementary School have access to adequate and structurally safe buildings that play an important role in quality learning for our young learners,” says Department of Education Bacolod City Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Gladys Amylaine Sales.

“School repairs are necessary in creating a quality learning environment as it sustains the teaching-learning process and motivation for learning,” adds ELNHS Principal Zenith Avila.

Launched in 2011, the Classrooms Project is focused on ensuring that Security Bank’s mission to enrich lives through education is upheld. “We focused our advocacy on education because we believe that education is the greatest equalizer in life, for it will give every person the opportunity to succeed in life, no matter what his or her social and economic background may be,” says SBFI chairman Rafael F. Simpao.

The Foundation has already repaired 215 of its previously-donated classrooms to address earthquake, typhoon, and volcanic activity damages as well as major wear and tear concerns.

To know more about Security Bank Foundation, its CSR and sustainability initiatives, visit www.securitybank.com/sustainability or Security Bank’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SecurityBank.