Makati City Mayor Abby Binay stated that they wrote to the Department of Education and were given permission by Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte to distribute to over 45,000 students in public elementary and high schools across 10 barangays which have had their jurisdiction transferred to Taguig City by the Supreme Court.
Mayor Abby Binay will visit Pembo Elementary School today to personally distribute school supplies. The distribution of uniforms and supplies in schools within the EMBO barangays will continue until Thursday, in preparation for the upcoming school year beginning on August 29.
The letter of approval was delivered by DepEd Undersecretary and spokesperson Michael Wesley Poa on August 22, 2023.
Binay expressed her gratitude to DepEd for this approval, as it allays parents' worries over whether their children would have uniforms and supplies for school. She noted that the students in EMBO barangays had already been set as a priority by Makati before the Supreme Court's decision to transfer the jurisdiction of 14 public schools to Taguig.
The expanded Project FREE (Free Relevant and Excellent Education) of Makati City is responsible for providing public school students, from kindergarten to senior high, including special education students in elementary and high school, with school uniforms and supplies.
Yesterday, the city government of Taguig also started distributing uniforms and school supplies to EMBO barangays. Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano personally visited Pitogo National High School, where her gesture was warmly received by the school administration, teachers, parents and students.
The 14 public schools previously under Makati District Two include Fort Bonifacio Elementary School, Cembo Elementary School, South Cembo Elementary School, Pitogo Elementary School, East Rembo Elementary School, Rizal Elementary School, Comembo Elementary School, West Rembo Elementary School, Pembo Elementary School, Makati Science High School, Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino High School, Tibagan High School, Fort Bonifacio High School, and Pitogo High School.
(Photos from Abby Binay and My Makati Facebook pages and from Taguig PIO)
