Mayor Isko Moreno and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna prepare the newspapers to be put inside the capsule for the groundbreaking of the Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Sampaloc, Manila. Tourism department chief Charlie Dungo. Moreno holds a copy of People’s Tonight while city engineer Armand Andres holds up an issue of People’s Journal. Photo by JERRY S. TAN
Isko bares 24/7 jab scheme, seeks volunteers
MAYOR Isko Moreno announced that vaccination in the city of Manila is set to be done 24/7 or round-the-clock in three sites per district once vaccines are made available to the city. Manila has six districts.
In line with this, he and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna launched the ‘Bayanihan sa Maynila’ program with a call for volunteers to aid in the planned 24/7 citywide vaccination.
Moreno said the city government will be needing around 200 volunteers who will be provided with free meals and who will be taking the nightshift to allow the daytime vaccinating teams to rest. Those that will be needed are doctors, nurses, licensed vaccinators, medtechs, midwives, pharmacists and other allied health professionals and encoders among others.
According to Moreno, the said volunteers will be trained during the enhanced community quarantine period and while the city awaits its allotment of vaccines from the national government so that when they arrive, the new vaccinating teams will be ready. Those interested may contact 0995-106-9524 (Globe) and 0960-604-0771 (Smart).
The mayor made the announcement during the groundbreaking ceremony at the Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Sampaloc which Moreno said is the biggest endeavor of the city in terms of building schools that are at par with private schools.
In the affair also attended by Lacuna, city engineer Armand Andres, city architect Pepito Balmoris, division of city schools superintendent Magdalena Lim, barangay bureau chief Romy Bagay, Liga ng Barangay president Leilani Lacuna and fourth district Councilor DJ Bagatsing, Moreno said that the building of a new A. Albert Elementary School will involve 1.5 hectares.
According to Andres, from the two-storey school that it is right now, the new A. Albert Elementary once finished, will become ten-storeys with 234 fully-airconditioned classrooms and 16 offices and state-of-the-art facilities like a modern library, canteen, auditorium and seven stairs node. It will also have a huge open field, roof deck that is convertible to an ourdoor exercise area and a gymnasium for physical activities and ten elevator units with a total capacity of 240 persons.
Moreno said that in building such modern schools, he would want the public school students in the city to experience the kind of facilities that his own children enjoy in private schools.
The mayor, himself a product of public school, said he knows the problems of public schools.
“Maswerte ang mga anak ko nakapag-aaral sa pribado. Gusto ko ipadama sa anak Ninyo ang natitikman ng mga anak ko— maginhawa, maaliwalas at may sapat na pasilidad upang pinuhin ang mga nag-aaral sa pampublikong paaralan,” Moreno said.
The mayor added: “Sino ang mag-aakala na ang isang galing ng public school at Tulungan Center na ngayon ay daycare na, ay magiging alkalde? Narito ang isang proyekto na hindi mo sasabihing, ‘pwede na ‘yan’ kundi ‘pupuwede pala!’”
Before the A. Albert Elementary School in Sampaloc, Moreno and Lacuna also broke ground at the R. Almario Elementary School in Tondo and the Manila Science High School on Taft Avenue which will have the same new features once finished.
