BAYANIHAN is a Filipino term taken from the word bayan, referring to a nation, country, town or community. It also refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective.

                After forging a partnership in March, Deped introduced interventions to combat corruption and set up mechanisms to deliver public service ethically and with integrity. The newest program under the anti – corruption efforts of the department is Brigada  Eskwela, through the active participation of the Government Watch (G- Watch) of the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG), and other involved parties.

                Brigada  Eskwela is now a recognized community – based public –private monitoring of school building projects, which involves various government agencies and organizations such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Office of the Ombudsman (OMB), Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP), and Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP).

                From the 24 sites in 2009, the Brigada  Eskwela is  implemented nationwide.

Community members and civil society are very eager partners since DepEd has programmed to build about 11,000 new classrooms this year. It is a modest accomplishment given the amount being spent in SBP’s however;Brigada Eskwela’s greatest accomplishment is that it was able to illustrate a different practice in governance where communities and ordinary citizens contribute to enhancing transparency and accountability leading to better services.

                Division (PFSED) formally adopted and institutionalized “Brigada Eskwela”, through Dep Ed Order No. 21, s. 2011 (Guidelines on the Institutionalization of Brigada  Eskwela as a Community – based Public – Private Monitoring of School Building Projects under the CY 2011 Regular School Building Program in Areas Experiencing Acute Classroom Shortage”), dated March 4, 2011.

                And as the beneficiaries, the educators in the system and the public composed of the students and their parents are giving our one hundred percent support to the initiative.

By: LORENA M. NAVATA | T-III | LIMAY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL | LIMAY, BATAAN