MANILA, Philippines —  We have visited scores of public elementary schools in the course of our media education campaign.

Our recent provincial sorties were also part of the feeding program and scholarships Anak TV gives to impoverished kids in select cities where the incidence of youth vagrancy is high.

In one recent outing, we paid our respects to the principal of St. John Elementary School in Puntod, Cagayan de Oro. The Anglicized name of the school is not meant to confuse people. Rather, the story goes that the community honors St. John as its patron saint and the English equivalent of San Juan stuck. The school is far from being a private entity.

Every decrepit nook and cranny of the poor establishment manifests it.

Duque Caguindangan is the school principal who was honed for 10 years as a classroom teacher before being elevated as principal. Today, he micro-manages the little school situated in a marginalized community whose rough and tumble alleys only pedicabs can navigate. The unpaved alleyways are redolent of farm roads, morphing into lakes during the rainy season. The pedicabs then compete with rafts in transporting passengers.

How Caguindangan was able to shore up resources from the neighboring community is a feat in itself.

Making his way tp pupils' hearts
When he took over, he discovered to his dismay that residents routinely tossed garbage into the school compound. Burglary was also common. Using simple personal relations, a lot of sincerity, and goodwill, he mustered the trust and support of the barangay officials and residents.

In no time, the thievery and trash-throwing became past tense. It helped that he wormed his way into the hearts of 463 pupils.

How that number was apportioned in 10 sections using only six classrooms is a modest miracle.

The other miracle is how Caguindangan was able to lower the student to book ratio.

Years before, it was 4:1. When he took over, he pulled it down to a more manageable two pupils to one textbook.

Another achievement he takes pride in is the marked increase in the admission scores of his wards. Caguindangan made sure that everyone is reminded of his school’s stellar performance by posting the percentage increase in the bulletin board in his cramped office.

Caguindangan’s efforts are palpable in what we saw. There were malunggay trees that gave of themselves abundantly to undernourished children. Despite the earth flooring, he draws lines so kids could play hopscotch and tumbang preso during their free time.

He doubles as librarian, enticing children to come and visit his tiny library inside his office. “These are simple pleasures I can offer my children. Many of them come from families with an average income of P100 a day! Books are nowhere in their financial priorities.”

Hero
It must be Caguindangan’s Jesuit education or the fact that teaching is not a mere source of income but an apostolate for this modern day hero that inspires him to work indefatigably.

His personal and active involvement in the Support to Train Juveniles program (STJ) gives him reason to be proud.

“Ever since we started this feeding program, thanks to Anak TV, we noted a marked decrease in pupil absenteeism,” he observes and is seconded by a lady teacher, one of the dozen who teach in this economically challenged school in the heart of Cagayan’s wretchedly poor.

“It does help that a child has food in his stomach to generate the energy required to first, physically attend class and second, understand and retain the lessons,” the principal explains.

It boggles the mind that many schools in town and city centers are often the recipients of largesse from donors and government. Because of their easy visibility and proximity to larger populations of voters, they get a lot of support.

Schools like St. John, meanwhile, are treated like pariah. Twelve teachers and over 400 pupils not only share six classrooms but also just one working computer.

In situations like this, one cannot but be grateful that there are people like Duque Caguindangan.

(If interested to get involved in the advocacy for child-safe television, please visit <anaktvweb.com> or email anaktv_seal@yahoo.com)