BACOLOD City — A total of 9,136 students of Negros Occidental High School (NOHS) received free school bags filled with basic school supplies from the Bacolod City Government on August 17, as part of its continuing efforts to expand educational assistance to Bacolodnon youth.
The distribution was led by Mayor Greg Gasataya, who said the program was extended to NOHS students after the city recognized that a large majority of the school’s learners are residents of Bacolod.
Each bag contains three rolls of intermediate writing pads and one box of ballpoint pens to provide students with basic supplies for their schoolwork.
Gasataya said the initiative was intended to ensure that Bacolodnon students enrolled at NOHS would not be excluded from the city’s educational assistance programs simply because the school is under a different Department of Education (DepEd) schools division.
The mayor said he had long questioned why NOHS students, many of whom are Bacolod residents and whose families contribute to the city as taxpayers, were not included in the annual distribution of free school bags and supplies.
“I have always wondered — despite the fact that the majority of NOHS students are residents of Bacolod, why are they not included in the free bags and school supplies we provide? Their families are also taxpayers. Many Bacolodnon youth are left behind in our program just because they are students of NOHS,” Gasataya said.
He said the city government subsequently worked to find a way to extend the program to NOHS students.
“For the first time, 9,136 of our NOHS students received free bags and school supplies from our city. We personally delivered these to ensure that they can access them,” the mayor said.
Gasataya added that the city government intends to continue the program for NOHS students every year and improve the assistance as resources and programs allow.
“We will make sure that every year they receive this program and we will continue to improve it. We will ensure that no Bacolodnon youth is left behind,” he said.
The city had earlier distributed school bags and physical education (PE) uniforms to students of junior and senior high schools in Bacolod under its educational assistance initiatives.
However, NOHS students were not included in the distribution of PE uniforms because the school is under the DepEd Negros Occidental Schools Division rather than the DepEd Bacolod City Schools Division.
Despite the distinction, city officials noted that many NOHS students are Bacolod residents.
Gasataya said extending the school supplies program to NOHS is a way of ensuring that educational assistance reaches Bacolodnon children regardless of which public school they attend.
The initiative forms part of the city government’s broader efforts to support students and help ease the financial burden faced by families at the start of the school year.
Under City Ordinance No. 09-16-787, the city provides free school bags and school supplies to public elementary school students.
Meanwhile, a proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Caesar Distrito is pending third and final approval by the Sangguniang Panlungsod. The measure seeks to institutionalize the distribution of free school bags, school supplies, PE uniforms and other essential educational materials to qualified public secondary school students who are bona fide residents of Bacolod.
Under the proposed measure, qualified Bacolod residents studying at NOHS would also be covered, along with students enrolled in public secondary schools under the DepEd Schools Division of Bacolod City./PN
