Property Boom Not Good for Schools
Property booms are often in the news as a positive sign of economic growth in the Philippines. Even here in Filipina Soul, we’ve frequently talked about the investments and growing real estate business that can be seen throughout the country. One of the downsides of this property boom, however, occurs when the sites of these proposed new builds are not currently vacant, unused lands.
Public schools all over the Philippines are being threatened with the loss of the land they sit upon.
Philanthropists donated the sites for a number of schools but their heirs have gone to court to reclaim them to cash in on the building boom, the environment and natural resources department said.
…. “The problem had been swept under the rug for a long time,” Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes said. “Solving this problem confronting our public schools sites should have been done a long time ago.”
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus estimated that there could be land ownership questions for more than 10,000 of the government’s 43,000 public school sites.
About 8,000 school sites are untitled and covered by deeds of donation only. Some of the sites were donated as long ago as after World War II and by law donations can be recalled.
The public schools are now feeling the pressure of heirs of the original donors wanting to reclaim the sites for redevelopment. It would be too sad if these heirs do not honor the generous donations made by their forebears. Chances are, they themselves have benefited from the schools that were put up on these lands.
I hope the government can find a solution that does not include leaving the schools and their students out in the cold.
via Inquirer.net; image from AsiaAmerica
Tags: Philippine education, Philippine schools, Philippine economy
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