Aired (February 22, 2025): Mahigit isang oras ang kailangang gugulin araw-araw nga mga estudyanteng ito sa Isla Pugad sa Hagonoy, Bulacan para makapasok lang sa pinakamalapit na paaralan! Minsan na silang inabutan ng bagyo sa dagat kung saan nalagay sa panganib ang kanilang mga buhay. #ReportersNotebook.
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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