00:00As we continued our tour of Pugad Island,
00:03we learned the reason why Jean Rose needed to cross the river
00:10and she had other friends to study with.
00:13The school on the island was only until elementary school.
00:16In the first year, we went to San Pedro because the high school was there.
00:23We decided to have a high school here so that they don't have to cross the river.
00:31They travel for an hour to get here.
00:34Free transportation is a big help for the students.
00:40The lack of a school for juniors to senior high school
00:44was the reason why many young people on Pugad Island stopped studying.
00:50Just like 13-year-old Kairos Tamayo,
00:54who used to be Jean Rose's classmate.
00:56But because of poverty, she was forced to stop in Grade 8.
01:00When I was in October, I went to Pugad Island.
01:04When Kairos' parents separated,
01:07his grandparents supported him.
01:11But they couldn't afford the daily fare to go to the other barangay,
01:17where the nearest school was.
01:20My grandfather was a gay.
01:21I think he was 64 or 65 years old.
01:26He was blind.
01:27He had eye blood.
01:30Now, Kairos helps his grandfather in fishing.
01:35We have a lot of fish.
01:36If there are a lot of fish, we sell them to the fishermen.
01:39We have around 600 to 700 fish.
01:44If there are only a few fish, we sell them for 3,000 to 4,000 pesos.
01:48But the child still has hope to go back to school.
01:53I want to grow up.
01:55I want to become a police officer.
01:57I want to help the poor.
02:01According to the latest study by the Philippine Statistics Authority,
02:04or PSA, in 2024,
02:06more than 10 million Filipino youth are out of school.
02:10One of the main reasons why schools are not continuing
02:13is the lack of access to schools.
02:17Every child has different challenges in access in that respect.
02:21Again, those are things you have to think through.
02:26For example, I know that your first question is,
02:29will I put a school nearby?
02:31But if you put a school nearby,
02:33the next question is,
02:34will you put a teacher?
02:38This could also be due to the budget implications.
02:42Because it's big,
02:44there are a lot of children in need,
02:46there are a lot of teachers in need,
02:48and we are just evolving within the budget that we receive.
02:53If we compare it to other countries,
02:54the education spending is not enough there.
02:58We are not equal yet.
03:01In a survey conducted by social weather stations in January 2025,
03:05equal access to education is one of the things voters consider
03:10when choosing candidates for the upcoming election.
03:14Ninety-two percent said it's important
03:16that it's included in the platform of their candidates.
03:23According to the latest data released by the Department of Education or DepEd last year,
03:28there are more than 165,000 classroom shortages across the country.
03:33To fill this gap,
03:34it will cost Php 413.6 billion
03:39to provide sufficient education
03:41for more than 23 million students in public schools each year.
03:50Like the school of Jean Rose,
03:52there is also a need for a shift in the class of Hagonoy East Central School
03:57due to the lack of classrooms when we first visited them.
04:01Some of their classrooms are already submerged in water and are no longer usable.
04:07The teachers here told us
04:09that if we walk in the middle of the water,
04:13the water will reach our ankles.
04:16Half of the class will take an AM class,
04:18and the other half will take a shift.
04:20You need to shift,
04:22because if you don't shift,
04:24it will be painful, right?
04:26In the past, there were seven classrooms for Grade 6 students.
04:30But now,
04:32the water has been collected,
04:34and it is broken,
04:36because it is broken.
04:38I hope that the students will be able to use it.
04:42Some of the classrooms
04:44are slowly being filled with water.
04:49This morning,
04:51we were able to see Teacher Maylene
04:53filling her classroom with water.
04:56Because of the high tide,
04:58our classroom is being filled with water.
05:01There is a class right now,
05:03so we need to clean it
05:05so that the students won't slip.
05:09But their class is not yet over.
05:13Suddenly, it started to rain heavily,
05:18and Teacher Maylene's classroom
05:20is slowly being filled with water.
05:23Almost all of the things we use here
05:27in the classroom are elevated.
05:30There are classrooms that have been abandoned.
05:33So the students are being brought here
05:35while they are in class?
05:37Yes, that's the scenario.
05:40Our school should not be like that.
05:44That's why I wanted to transfer here,
05:47because I want to help
05:49the people I serve.
05:52I want to be an instrument
05:54for the deaf education.
06:00For more information, visit www.fema.gov
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