01 October 2004 – Filipino community organizations in New York led by Consul General Cecilia Rebong handed a symbolic check amounting to $24,142.75 to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo as donation for the Classroom Galing sa Mamamayang Pilipino Abroad (CGMA) project to construct six classrooms in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the province of Bulacan.  The amount represented the donations received by the Philippine Consulate General as of 28 September 2004.  A ceremonial turnover of the donation was held during Secretary Romulo’s meeting with the Filipino community at the Philippine Center in New York on Tuesday, 28 September 2004.  The event was hosted by Consul General Rebong.

During the turnover ceremonies, Consul General Rebong remarked that the donation to the CGMA project “once again demonstrates that Filipinos in the U.S. have not forgotten the noble Filipino Bayanihan spirit,” and that “the donation comes from the heart of the Filipino expatriate community in the New York area.”

According to Consul General Rebong, the money was raised through the Consulate's "Adopt-a-Classroom Project" specifically to help construct four classrooms in Barangay Inug-Ug, Pagalungan, Maguindanao, one classroom in a still to be identified town also in ARMM and another one in Bulacan.  One donor also specified that US$1000.00 be allotted to set up an educational television infrastructure in Inug-Ug Elementary School under the ETV project of the ABS-CBN Foundation.

Barangay Inug-Ug is one of the poorest Barangays in the Philippines and was the site of many armed clashes between government forces and members of the Muslim secessionist movement during the height of the Muslim insurgency, resulting in the displacement of many families.  In June 2003, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared Barangay Inug-Ug as a zone of peace.  Presently, the Barangay has more than 600 school-age children and young adults ranging from 6 to 19 years of age, attending classes in temporary structures.

Secretary Romulo said, he was “deeply touched by the kindness and generosity of the Filipino community.”  He narrated how, as Senator and then as Executive Secretary, he had visited several depressed areas in the country and seen with his own eyes, many young Filipinos attending classes under the most dreadful conditions.  He also said “the donation would go a long way in preparing children in Barangay Inug-Ug and other areas for a brighter tomorrow.”

The Consulate General re-launched the CGMA project earlier this year.  Locally dubbed "Adopt-a- Classroom-Project," the program serves as the Consulate's vehicle in securing the Filipino-American community's support for the construction of classrooms in areas of the Philippines suffering from an acute shortage of classrooms.  The Project has elicited a positive response from the community with many Fil-Ams hailing it as an excellent mechanism for the Filipino expatriate community in the U.S. to provide the Filipino youth back home with decent classrooms conducive to learning.

"Other associations have pledged to contribute. And after Tuesday's event, the Consulate General in New York did receive more pledges for the project.  We are very encouraged by this turnout.  By focusing on ARMM and helping in the education agenda of the President, we are also doing our share to promote peace and development in the region," Consul General Rebong said.  END.