ORION, Bataan – RK Shimizu Foundation and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday inaugurated a one-storey, two-classroom school building that they jointly built here. It was the fifth school building in the Philippines sponsored by the Japanese foundation.
Lt. Col. Rommel de Dios, commanding officer of the 522nd Engineering Brigade, said soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the 54th Engineering Battalion provided the labor free with some local folk while Shimizu supported the funding.
He said that they began constructing the school building in the Bantan Elementary School in this town and another one in Capas, Tarlac last January 10, 2012 and finished the two on February 15 this year or within 30 days.
Katsutoshi Shimizu, chairman of the foundation from Nagasaki, Japan, said the school buildings in Bataan and Tarlac were the second batch after they built three buildings in Batangas last July 2011.
He said they will focus in constructing more school buildings in Bataan and Tarlac “because of the Death March during World War II.”
He said he was young then but that he was informed by Filipino friends of the hardships and horror brought by the war.
“I came in the Philippines when I was 43 years old and many Filipinos helped me but now that I am 73 years old, I want to pay back and I believe that education is the best so I embarked in this project after learning from the Department of Education of the shortage of classrooms,” Shimizu said.
The new school building in Orion has separate comfort rooms outside and provided with tables and chairs from the Prefecture of Nagasaki. Each classroom has a computer set provided by Shimizu.
Maria Corazon Aragon, principal of Bantan Elementary School, said they were grateful that they were chosen as beneficiary of Shimizu.
“This will be of big help to our pupils,” she said. She said the new building will be occupied by Grades I and II children.
