City dad encourages high school studs to improve academic performance

By: Vic Larato

ZAMBOANGA CITY, June 6 (PIA)- - City dad Mayor Celso Lobregat on Tuesday challenged the teachers and students of Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School (DPLMHS) to improve the academic performance in this year’s National Achievement Test (NAT) as the city government continues to support the school through infrastructure projects.

Lobregat made the challenge during the inauguration of the newly constructed two-storey 10-classroom building, the fourth of its kind to be donated by the city government under his administration. The project was undertaken by GHR Construction firm in the amount of P10,733,066.91.

The school now has a total of 13 classroom buildings, of which 9 and a gymnasium were constructed during the time of Ma’am Caling and four under her son’s administration. The chief executive emphasized that not one building was ever constructed by DepEd at DPLMHS.

This, as another two-storey 10-classroom building (the 5^th under Lobregat’s administration) worth P10.7 million is under construction next to the one that was unveiled yesterday.

And, if that is not enough, Lobregat also vowed to construct the school’s track oval at the back of the gym, to a thunderous applause by the DPLMHS students and teachers headed by the principal, Dr. Maria Pilar Gregorio.

“We are giving you all these infrastructure projects to give you an environment that is conducive to learning for students and teaching for teachers,” Lobregat told the DPLMHS students and teachers, even as he challenged them to improve their NAT performance.

The mayor likewise urged them to take good care of the buildings by repairing whatever defects there may be in the future. For instance, he lauded the principal for replacing the gym’s broken tiles with new ones.

Lobregat posed one more challenge to the school through the principal and that was to have holes on the gym’s roofs plastered or covered to prevent the rain from getting through.

Also present during the inauguration were Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde, Councilors Rudy Lim, Nonong Guingona, Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar, Percival Ramos, VP Elago and Gerky Valesco together with City Engineer Luis Vicente Despalo, City Schools Division Superintendent Melchor Pedro Natividad and the contractor with Rev. Fr. Michael Ufana blessing the school building. (JPA/VL /CIO/PIA9-ZBST)