Gapan City, Nueva Ecija – Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI) has turned over a newly built two-storey, six-classroom school building to Gapan East Integrated School (GEIS), marking another step forward in its long-running advocacy, Build a School, Build a Nation: The Classrooms Project.
The new building provides a much-needed solution to GEIS’s classroom shortage, giving over 1,200 students and teachers a more comfortable and inspiring space to learn. Despite limited resources, GEIS has consistently shown excellence, ranking above the national average in problem-solving, information literacy, and critical thinking in the 2023–2024 National Achievement Test—outperforming more than 90 percent of schools in Metro Manila.
“Some of us may feel that the task of addressing the problems of education in our country is so overwhelming that the efforts we are exerting would hardly make a difference. But I do not agree because I believe in the power of persistent cumulative influence,” said SBFI Chairman Rafael F. Simpao Jr.
Gapan City Mayor Emary Joy D. Pascual expressed her gratitude, saying, “Sanay po kami na ang LGU ang nagbibigay. Napakasarap po palang mabigyan at maalala. Mahiyain po kami kaya kami na bahala sa repair.”
Meanwhile, Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Enrique E. Angeles Jr., CESO VI, described the turnover as a celebration of shared vision and responsibility. “Sa pagtanggap ng gusaling ito, pangako naming pupunuin ang bawat silid ng mga kwento ng inspirasyon, pag-asa, at pagmamahal—mga kwentong huhubog sa mga kabataang magiging pag-asa at pagbabago ng ating bayan.”
Beyond constructing classrooms, SBFI continues to invest in teacher and school leadership development. Through its partnerships with Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle Philippines, the Foundation offers capacity-building initiatives such as the Principals’ Training Program. One former GEIS assistant principal—now heading Lupang Pangarap Elementary School—is currently enrolled in this program, reflecting SBFI’s long-term commitment to nurturing future education leaders.
To date, Security Bank Foundation has built 851 classrooms in 146 schools across 87 cities and municipalities nationwide—each one a brick laid in its enduring mission to help build the nation through education.
Learn more about Security Bank Foundation’s education initiatives at www.securitybank.com/foundation.