00:00While traveling, this boat has more than 30 passengers in the ocean of Hagonoy, Bulacan.
00:30Suddenly, the strong rain poured down.
00:49The boat is being ridden by Grade 8 student Jean Rose Atienza.
00:55The students are being pushed by the strong waves.
00:58They are being asked to go home from their school.
01:02The boat stopped for a moment.
01:05But the waves continue to push them.
01:13At that time, we were afraid because the waves are strong.
01:24Others are crying and shouting because they are afraid.
01:30We are afraid for the safety of our children.
01:34We are worried because our children will not be able to go home safely.
01:40We will not be allowed to go home.
01:45How long can these children endure the difficulty of crossing the ocean?
01:54Don't move!
02:00They can only reach their dream of education.
02:25The sun is not yet rising.
02:28Jean Rose is preparing to go to school.
02:31She is only 13 years old.
02:33I reviewed because I heard that we have a long course in the Philippines.
02:39Our topic in the Philippines is Florent and Laura.
02:44Her mother, Jennifer, is also busy making greyhound balls.
02:52Aside from her school supplies, Jean Rose is also busy in some stores.
02:58When it comes to fishing,
03:02the most exciting part is that their children are already aged.
03:07They are all grown up.
03:09They are not afraid of the sea and the ocean.
03:14They can go to school without worrying about the school.
03:18I am not afraid of the sea.
03:21I am not afraid of the ocean.
03:24I am not afraid of the sea.
03:25Other students are also looking forward to it.
03:30They are one by one boarding the passenger boat to their junior high school in Hagonoy, Bulacan.
03:39The fare here is 35 pesos per trip.
03:43Is this the only way to go to school?
03:56If I'm left behind, I can't go to school because there's no other boat available.
04:06That's how it is for students. There's no other boat.
04:13They need to travel for almost an hour to the nearest school in their barangay.
04:24The sea is calm this morning.
04:27It's different from what Jean Rose experienced more than four months ago.
04:33Where are you going?
04:37They were supposed to go home from the other town.
04:41But their class was cancelled due to a typhoon.
04:45When we arrived, we were waiting for the announcement that the school would be suspended because of the heavy rain.
04:54When the school was suspended, we were allowed to go home.
04:57But in the middle of their journey, the heavy rain suddenly poured.
05:03And they were gradually swept away by the strong waves.
05:17I saw your video where you were swept away by the strong waves while you were in the middle of the sea.
05:24What did you feel at that moment?
05:28We were scared because the waves were so strong.
05:33That's why we stopped.
05:35The others were crying.
05:38We were nervous and scared for our children's safety.
05:43That's how we mothers are.
05:45We're worried.
05:47Until our children are safe, we won't be allowed to go home.
05:51Thank you, Lord, for your protection for our children.
05:57It's a good thing that they were able to reach their destination safely.
06:02But after the incident last year,
06:06they were no longer afraid whenever they traveled by sea.
06:11Why is it that even though it's dangerous,
06:14why do you still go to school?
06:18I want to be an inspiration to other children.
06:22When I became a teacher,
06:26I wanted to share what I learned with them.
06:43When we arrived at Jean Rose,
06:45they were in a hurry because their class was about to start.
07:00Because of the large number of students in their classes,
07:03the classes were divided into two shifts.
07:07Since we are catering almost 4,000 students,
07:11junior to senior,
07:12and we lack classrooms.
07:15So in order for us to cater for them,
07:19we had a double shift, the AM session and the PM session.
07:24There were more than 30 students in Jean Rose's class.
07:28Did you pass all the papers on this side?
07:33It's 8 in the morning.
07:35It's break time for Jean Rose.
07:36But she won't eat first.
07:38She needs to sell the snacks she brought.
07:43How many are left in your plastic bag?
07:4610 pieces.
07:4810 pieces.
07:50You can finish that now.
07:52How many more seconds?
07:55The Greyhound Balls that my mom made,
07:59she sent them to my school.
08:01The Greyhound Balls that my mom made,
08:04she sent them to my school.
08:07I only sold 8 of them.
08:09I earned P285.
08:11This is a big deal for her,
08:13so she can have a massage on the boat.
08:18It's almost 12 noon
08:20after Jean Rose's class.
08:29Before going home,
08:31the students are buying things
08:33for her big day tomorrow.
08:36She also bought a kid's lunch.
08:39Because it's time to go home,
08:41the students are slowly getting on the boat
08:45with Jean Rose.
08:50The boats that will take the students
08:53are already waiting for them.
08:55Jean Rose also ate her lunch on the boat.
08:59Did you buy your lunch?
09:02Yes, when I was still in school,
09:04before I went to school.
09:06Why did you buy your lunch?
09:08That was our lunch.
09:12It's 12 noon.
09:14The boat has already left.
09:29After an hour,
09:31they arrived at Islapugan.
09:40But Jean Rose's day is not yet over.
09:48When they arrived home,
09:50the students took a short rest.
09:59Because they still need to prepare
10:02for their recitation tomorrow.
10:05Inside their house,
10:07Jean Rose is hiding an important treasure.
10:12These are my medals
10:15and awards from elementary school.
10:18For Girl Scout,
10:20with honors,
10:227th place in column writing
10:25in Filipino,
10:26Good Moral Character,
10:29with honors,
10:31Kandak Award,
10:33with high honors.
10:35For me,
10:37when I finish my studies,
10:39it's easier for me to find a job
10:42and for a better future.
10:46While Jean Rose is studying,
10:51Jennifer is preparing
10:53the maruya.
10:54They will help sell
10:56what will be sold later in Islapugan.
10:59Because her husband's income
11:02from fishing is not enough.
11:05It's around Php280.
11:08I have to spend Php180.
11:11I have to spend it at home.
11:17Although Jennifer doesn't agree
11:19that her son's attention is divided
11:21in studying and selling,
11:22Jean Rose is the one
11:24who helps them.
11:27It's a big thing
11:29because when there's no catch,
11:31that's when I get their support.
11:40Maruya!
11:42Maruya!
11:44Maruya!
11:46Even though it's a sunny day,
11:48the island is still busy.
11:53Maruya!
11:55Maruya!
11:57Maruya!
11:59Maruya!
12:01Maruya!
12:03Maruya!
12:05Maruya!
12:07Maruya!
12:09Maruya!
12:11Maruya!
12:13After more than an hour,
12:15the market of Jennifer and Jean Rose
12:17is already sold out.
12:19We're already sold out.
12:20And what we were able to sell
12:23is around Php700 plus.
12:25That's for the two of them.
12:27And that's for here,
12:29for expenses.
12:31If there's food to buy.
12:33It's very important
12:35because that's our food.
12:37Before arriving at their house,
12:39we noticed the seawalls
12:41in their area.
12:43It was around 3 years ago.
12:45But it was only around 6 years
12:47that we were able to build it
12:48when we built it.
12:51I wanted to build a dam
12:54because when it floods,
12:56all the houses here get flooded.
12:59Especially in the month of July
13:01until September or October.
13:03So that we don't get flooded
13:06because the flood really hits us.
13:11In our continuous journey
13:13around Pugad Island,
13:15we learned the reason
13:16why Jean Rose's boat needs to cross
13:19and that she has other friends
13:21to study with.
13:23The school on the island
13:25is only until elementary school.
13:27In the first year,
13:29we went to San Pedro
13:31because the high school is there.
13:35We decided to have
13:37a high school here
13:39so that they don't have to cross
13:41because they travel for an hour
13:43and they still have to travel.
13:45Free transportation
13:47is a big help
13:49for the students.
13:52The absence of a school
13:54for the junior to senior high school
13:56is the reason why
13:58other youths on Pugad Island
14:00stopped studying.
14:02Just like 13-year-old
14:04Cairos Tamayo,
14:06who used to be Jean Rose's classmate.
14:08But because of poverty,
14:10she was forced to stop in Grade 8.
14:12In October,
14:14I stopped.
14:16When Cairos' parents were separated,
14:19her grandfather and grandmother
14:21supported her.
14:23But they couldn't afford
14:25the daily fare
14:27to go to the other barangay
14:29where the nearest school is.
14:31My grandfather stopped
14:33because of his age.
14:35I think my grandfather
14:37was 64 or 65.
14:39His eyes were blurry
14:41and he had high blood pressure.
14:42For now,
14:44Cairo is helping her grandfather
14:46in fishing.
14:48I can catch a lot of fish.
14:50If there are a lot of fish,
14:52I can sell it to the fishmonger.
14:54I can sell it for P600
14:56or P700.
14:58If there are only a few fish,
15:00I can sell it for P3,000.
15:02But the child still has hope
15:04to go back to school.
15:06I want to grow up.
15:08I want to be a policeman
15:10because I want to help
15:12the children.
15:14According to the latest study
15:16by the Philippine Statistics Authority
15:18or PSA in 2024,
15:20more than 10 million Filipinos
15:22are out of school.
15:24One of the reasons
15:26why the study is not continuing
15:28is the lack of access
15:30to education.
15:32Every child has different challenges
15:34in access in that respect.
15:36Again, those are things
15:38you have to think through.
15:40For example,
15:42if you want to get closer
15:44to school,
15:46the next question is
15:48if you have a teacher.
15:50This could be because
15:52of the budget implications.
15:54Because it's big,
15:56a lot of children need it,
15:58a lot of teachers need it,
16:00and we're just getting involved
16:02within the budget
16:04that we receive.
16:06If you compare it to other countries,
16:08the education spending
16:10may not be enough.
16:12In a survey conducted
16:14by Social Weather Stations
16:16in January 2025,
16:18equal access to education
16:20is one of the things
16:22voters consider
16:24when choosing candidates
16:26for the upcoming election.
16:2892% said it's important
16:30that it's included
16:32in the platform
16:34of their candidates.
16:36According to the latest data
16:38by the Department of Education
16:40or DEPED,
16:42the number of classrooms
16:44in the country is decreasing.
16:46In order to fill it,
16:48it will cost P413.6 billion
16:50to be enough
16:52for more than
16:5423 million students
16:56in public schools each year.
17:02Just like the education
17:04of Jane Rose,
17:06a shift in the class of
17:08Hagonoy East Central School
17:10is also needed
17:12for students to visit.
17:14Some of their classrooms
17:16are already submerged
17:18and unusable.
17:20The teachers here said
17:22that if we walk
17:24in the middle of the water,
17:26the water will reach
17:28to our ankles.
17:30Half of the students
17:32will go to AM
17:34and the other half
17:36will shift.
17:38If you don't shift,
17:40it will be painful.
17:42But now that
17:44the water has been collected,
17:46it's clean,
17:48it will be destroyed
17:50because students
17:52hope to benefit from it.
17:54Some classrooms
17:56are also slowly
17:58being filled with water.
18:01This morning,
18:03we were able to see
18:05Teacher Maylene
18:07in her classroom.
18:09Because of the high tide,
18:10our classroom is being filled
18:12with water.
18:14So there are classes
18:16that need to be cleaned
18:18so that the students
18:20won't slip.
18:22But their class
18:24is not yet finished.
18:26Suddenly,
18:28the heavy rain started
18:30and the classroom
18:32was slowly being filled
18:34with water by Teacher Maylene.
18:36Because almost all
18:38the things we use
18:40are on elevators.
18:42There are classrooms
18:44that have been abandoned.
18:46So the students are being
18:48brought here while they are in class?
18:50Yes, that's the scenario.
18:52Our school
18:54shouldn't be like that.
18:56That's why I wanted
18:58to transfer here
19:00because I want to help
19:02the people I serve.
19:04I want to be an instrument
19:06for the deaf education.
19:11Two years have passed
19:13and we have returned
19:15to Hagonoy East Central School.
19:17This driveway
19:19of Hagonoy East Central School
19:21was built
19:23when the flood hit.
19:25This area used to be
19:27completely submerged.
19:29So we built a dam
19:31so that our students
19:33and teachers
19:35can go around.
19:37That's why this classroom
19:38wasn't used before.
19:40This clinic
19:42was made
19:44into a Grade 3 classroom.
19:47It is also noteworthy
19:49that the school buildings
19:51that used to be submerged
19:53in the flood
19:57were demolished.
19:59A building with 4 floors
20:01and 16 classrooms
20:03was planned to be built here
20:05but it hasn't started yet.
20:06It was supposed to be
20:08for funding
20:10but it wasn't a priority
20:12for the deaf education
20:14because the leadership changed.
20:17Teacher Faye
20:19will be reassigned
20:21to another school in 6 months.
20:23She hopes that
20:25the problem in their school
20:27will be solved.
20:29It really affects
20:31the quality of education
20:33because if the area is flooded
20:34the enrollment will decrease
20:36because of our present situation.
20:38From 1,200
20:40it became 1,000
20:42and now it's only 872
20:44for our enrollment
20:46in the Central School.
20:50In the 3 days
20:52that we followed Jean Rose
20:54she always has one request.
20:56What do you want to happen
20:58or happen here
21:00so that you can
21:02have more students?
21:04I hope that
21:06there will be more boats
21:08that travel here
21:10so that if ever
21:12a boat is left
21:14there will be a vehicle
21:16to go to the school.
21:18We also ride a boat
21:20so it's better
21:22if there are more boats
21:24so that we don't have to
21:26ride a boat.
21:28She also has a message
21:30to her fellow students.
21:32I hope that they
21:34grow up
21:36because their knowledge
21:38is the only thing
21:40that will never be stolen.
21:51Jean Rose is making a huge sacrifice
21:54to be able to go to school.
21:59There is a chance
22:01that they will be put in danger
22:02while in the middle of the ocean.
22:12But this is not a barrier
22:14for them to continue their studies.
22:16The students of Pugan Island
22:18ask the government
22:20to help them
22:22to fulfill their dream
22:24of education.
22:28Until next Saturday
22:30I am Jun Veneracion.
22:33I am Mackie Pulido
22:35and this is the Reporter's Notebook.
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