Belle Corp., the resort destination and leisure property developer affiliate of SM Investments Corp., facilitated the donation of P100 million by the Melco Resorts (Philippines) Foundation Corp. to South Cotabato province and the Department of Education South Cotabato for the construction of classroom buildings in 40 public schools.
Belle initiated the donation to address the critical shortage of classrooms in the province, with 40 public schools set to benefit from the initiative.
Reports from September 2023 highlighted a dire need for an additional 608 classrooms in South Cotabato, part of the larger shortfall of 8,257 classrooms reported by the Department of Education in Region 12.
“We at Belle, and the entire SM Group, firmly believe that education is key to lifting marginalized families out of poverty. Although South Cotabato is geographically distant from our main communities in Metro Manila and Luzon, the need for classrooms and educational infrastructure in South Central Mindanao, particularly in areas inhabited by the Blaan and T’boli indigenous communities, is pressing,” Belle president and chief executive Armin Antonio Raquel Santos said.
“Our collaboration with the Melco Foundation to fund these 80 new classrooms—capable of accommodating up to 4,000 students—is a vital step towards addressing this gap. We believe these new facilities will greatly support the educational journey of students and contribute to the overall betterment of their families and communities,” Raquel Santos said.
The classroom buildings are being constructed in public schools located in the provincial capital of Koronadal City and key localities of South Cotabato including the municipalities of Polomolok, Tampakan, and, Tupi. Each building will house two classrooms, accommodating up to 100 students in total.
The new facilities are designed with accessibility in mind, featuring wheelchair ramps and lavatory facilities between the classrooms. Each room will also be equipped with ceiling fans and modern concave blackboards to enhance the learning environment.
Eight of the classroom buildings have completed construction in public schools in Koronadal City, Tampakan, Tupi and Banga in time to start the school year.
The first school building to finish construction was the Tupi Central Elementary School which is now being used by over 40 grade three pupils.
The rest of the school buildings are in advanced stages of construction and are expected to open within the current school year.
