SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija – The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has granted the City Government of San Jose a P272-million loan for the construction of new public school buildings, towards providing accessible and quality education for San Joseños.
The San Jose LGU will use the funding to build 18 new public school buildings, 15 of which are allotted for elementary schools, two for secondary schools, and one for an integrated school.
The project will be implemented in 15 different barangays, including areas with high incidence of drop-outs due to the lack of nearby educational facilities and high education cost incurred by mostly farmer-parents.
“LANDBANK is committed to providing meaningful investments to advance inclusive, quality education. Our partnership with the City of San Jose will support its continuing development and transcend generations of residents,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia Cayosa Borromeo.
Once completed and operational, the new school buildings will provide 115 additional classrooms to around 4,025 students at an ideal classroom to student ratio of 1:33. This will help accommodate more students, from 33,357 to 37,382, who mostly come from families of farmers, regular fixed income earners, and micro and small entrepreneurs.
The project will also benefit the local economy by generating new employment to 72 additional teachers.
San Jose City Mayor Mario O. Salvador and LANDBANK Nueva Ecija Lending Center Head, Vice President Eduardo N. Reyes, Jr. led the ceremonial signing of the loan agreement on 25 April 2023. They were joined by City Treasurer Arnold A. Escuadro, LANDBANK San Jose Branch Head Imelda G. Eusebio, and Account Officer Ruben A. Laureta.
Mayor Salvador thanked LANDBANK for its support in providing better educational facilities to the youth of San Jose.
“We aim to deliver quality convenient education through the construction of various school buildings, especially in remote areas of our community, which will minimize school drop-outs and ease the financial burden of parents,” said Mayor Salvador.
LANDBANK has been a partner of the San Jose LGU since 2002 in delivering responsive and meaningful public services. The Bank has previously supported local development projects that include the acquisition of heavy equipment and construction of public market, farm to market roads, school buildings, overflow bridge, and other essential infrastructure facilities.
