Japan Embassy First Secretary Suzuki Yuki attended the official handover of “The Project for Construction of School Building for Ilog Elementary School in Municipality of Ilog, Negros Occidental” Tuesday, 4 February.

This project was approved in 2022, under Japan’s Official Development Assistance through the Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects. In attendance were Ilog Mayor John Paul Alvarez, other key local government unit officials, and school officials.

Ilog Elementary School, located in the town center, serves 984 students with 38 teachers, and is designated as an emergency evacuation center during times of disaster. The school's building, constructed in 1978, was in a hazardous condition, with collapsing floorboards, cracks in the interior walls, and a ceiling at risk of collapse due to severe deterioration.

Furthermore, due to the large number of students in the area, the school has been accepting more students than the capacity of the school building. As a result, even the outdoor stage used for school events has been repurposed as a makeshift classroom.

As a remedial solution, the Embassy of Japan provided a grant of USD 247,228 (approximately P14 million) to the Municipal Government of Ilog. This grant funded the construction of a two-story, six-classroom building, which includes seven toilets to meet the Department of Education’s requirements. The new building will provide a safe learning environment for students and will also serve as a temporary evacuation center, offering shelter to approximately 200 individuals from 40 nearby households.