A BRAND-NEW school building awaits thousands of students returning to face-to-face classes in Angeles City in the coming school year as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) inaugurated a four-storey, 20-classroom structure at the City College of Angeles (CCA) on June 17, 2022.
The newly-built learning facility worth P50 million will help address classroom shortage in said school that is reputed to be one of the most densely-populated educational institutions in the province of Pampanga. Before the pandemic disrupted classes and forced students to resort to online schooling, CCA had an average of 4,000 enrollees every year.
The unveiling of the state-of-the-art schoolbuilding was led by PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo and Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr. They were joined at the event by CCA OIC-President Dr. Francisco Villanueva Jr. and Casino Filipino Angeles General Manager Redentor Rivera.
During the inauguration ceremony, Lazatin expressed gratitude to PAGCOR for heeding their request for an additional learning facility, which he said would be instrumental in providing CCA’s students with quality education.
“It was just a vision then, a dream. ‘Yung dating pangarap natin, ito na ngayon. Mas maraming classroom at mas maraming buildings para sa ating city college. Thanks to PAGCOR for funding the school building project,” he said.
“We are looking forward to face-to-face classes starting in the City College of Angeles as we now have a facility that can accommodate more students. Alam natin na ang edukasyon ang susi sa kahirapan at dahil sa proyektong ito, mas marami tayong mga matutulungan at matuturuang mga kabataan,” Lazatin added.
Domingo, meanwhile, proudly noted that the state-run gaming firm was able to fund the school building project despite the financial challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m delighted to see that the construction of the facility has officially been completed, and am hopeful that once in-person classes starts for the City of Angeles, students will have more comfortable space for studying than they did a few years ago,” the PAGCOR chief stated, adding that the agency projects to hit over P60 billion in revenues by the end of the year with its gaming operations now in full swing.
Knowing that education is the key to a more progressive nation in the future, PAGCOR has been addressing the shortage in classrooms for more than a decade
