Organization

Municipal Government of Padre Garcia

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership; Strategy; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

Year Implemented

September 2013

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

Education Governance or E-Governance is an educational practice in the municipality of Padre Garcia which involves projects for its public schools. It is aligned with the vision, “Walang Kabataan Ang Dapat Maiwan” of former Municipal Vice Mayor Noel Cantos, who assumed office in 2014. Since then, he has made his vision uplift the quality of education–the core of all his work. He gives his utmost support to every stakeholder, ensuring time and effort to determine the needs and develop relevant resolutions for the education sector’s struggles.

Background and Problem

The municipality of Padre Garcia is a second-class municipality with a very rich culture and history. It is an agricultural community composed of 17 rural and one urban barangay. It is best known as the “Cattle Trading Capital of the Philippines.” This locality is fortunate to have 17 public elementary and three public high schools. The local government of Padre Garcia wanted to improve the land and society by producing knowledgeable and highly skilled citizens with virtuous characters. The goal is to secure the future of the young Garcianos with values formation coupled with spiritual nourishment. With this goal comes a mission: “To nurture the human spirit in its purest essence for the youth.”

Similar to other schools in the country, problems and struggles were unavoidable in the schools within the municipality of Padre Garcia. Some of these were the following:

  • Establishing harmony and camaraderie among stakeholders. Communication plays a vital role in the overall success of education.
  • Teachers’ needs in the fulfillment of their duties. The teacher also needs support from the government for the successful utilization and execution of their lessons and activities for improved learning.
  • Students’ needs in various aspects. Students should not be simply sent to school; they need proper guidance, enough materials, and a secure environment.
  • Lack of Facilities. As time passes, the number of enrollees is increasing, and the number of rooms has become insufficient, while other facilities and equipment need repair.
  • Funding. To provide high-quality education, it is undeniable that the school needs funds to develop student activities. Less funding means fewer resources for the students to use.
  • Technology Advancement. Technology has many advantages and is a critical help in the education sector. However, there is an inability to acquire new technologies for schools, teachers, and students.
  • Poverty. There are still undergraduates of grade levels in the adult population and out-of-school youth because many need to work at an early age because of poverty rather than pursue their studies.
  • Tertiary Education. The municipality envisions offering tertiary education to support its aim to provide quality education for every Garciano. Unfortunately, the municipality has no schools yet offering a college degree.

Solution and Impact

To respond to the problems of limited facilities, the local government unit of Padre Garcia continuously seeks possible ways to have school buildings. The locality provided enough room and facilities for students through outsourcing and asking for donations from the national government.

Each school was allotted an amount for its programs and activities from the local government unit for the school funding. If the funds were insufficient, the Sangguniang Bayan passed resolutions and coordinated with school principals to identify possible ways to help the schools. Moreover, technology is now accessible to schools. Mr. Cantos responded to the need for computers and printers and provided the schools with this equipment through the help of the Sangguniang Bayan. The teachers highly used the equipment in doing their teaching designs and printing important documents.

To help constituents pursue education despite their poverty, Mr. Cantos helped fund a hundred scholars in partnership with the Alay-Lakad Foundation. The local government unit also allocated a budget to provide scholarships for Garcianos to help indigent students with their education.

To elevate education, Mr. Cantos also proposed the creation of a community college for the municipality of Padre Garcia. Located in Castillo, Padre Garcia, Batangas, it is expected to be operational by 2022.

Mr. Cantos is very participative in different school activities. He has been participating in the Brigada Eskwela program and together with the Sangguniang Bayan, he has been helping provide useful materials by donating paint and cleaning materials. He also helps with the renovation of the facilities needing repair.

One of his well-known programs is the Gulayan sa Paaralan. Through this initiative, Padre Garcia could landscape creative gardens consistently inside the school premises. Moreover, Gulayan sa Paaralan was not only for beautification. It also aimed to produce nutritious fruits and vegetables for feeding programs.

These solutions to the identified problems have positively impacted the education sector.

Milestones/Next Steps

Padre Garcia was proud to be one of the 20 cities and municipalities recognized for promoting and sustaining education among its citizens. The municipality received the 2019 Seal of Good Education Governance award, which came with a sealed marker and P100, 000 worth of call, text, and data services from PLDT-Smart. The package was intended to provide communications support to LGUs in conducting education initiatives.

It was also a recipient of Gawad Balisong Parangal, an award given by the Department of
To realize the goal of improving society and the citizens of Padre Garcia, the LGU of Padre Garcia is taking the initiative to improve the education sector responsible for forming and educating the youth so that they can fully participate in the attainment of a well-developed and highly organized society. The partnership and participation of the Garciano community paved the way to an excellent education system in the municipality. The present administration of the LGU of Padre Garcia concerns itself with the development of human society by providing the proper education to the people of Padre Garcia. The focus of action is on the children and youth.

With the partnership of the LGU, LSB, DepEd, SGC, PTA, NGOs, the barangays, and the entire Garciano community, the municipality of Padre Garcia was able to provide and implement projects and programs that aim to improve the quality of education, helping the school in guiding children towards the achievement of their dreams.